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CURRENT  PROBLEMS 


NUMBER  4 


SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY  OF  A 


COMMUNITY  IN  THE  RED  RIVER  VALLEY 


BY 


LOUIS  DWIGHT  HARVELL  WELD,  Ph.D. 

Assistant  Professor  of  Economics,   Chief  of  the  J)ivision  of  Research 

in  Agricultural  Economics! 


P 


MINNEAPOLIS 

Published  by  the  University  of  Minnesota 
January   1915 


So 


;2^ 


Copyright  1915 
The  Uxiversity  of  Minnesota 


\ 


///^ 


PREFACE 

In  selecting  localities  for  the  social  and  economic  surveys  conducted  by 
the  Division  of  Research  in  Agricultural  Economics  of  the  University  of 
Minnesota,  it  has  been  the  object  to  choose  communities  that  are  typical  of 
ditierent  sections  of  the  State.  The  first,  published  in  1913,  covered  a 
township  in  southeastern  Minnesota  which  is  representative  of  those  regions 
where  diversified  farming  and  dairying  have  reached  a  fairly  high  state  of 
development.  The  community  selected  for  this  survey  is  in  the  Red  River 
\'aliey,  near  Crookston,  and  is  typical  of  the  large-farm,  grain-growing 
section  of  ^Minnesota.  The  farming  community  covered  does  not  represent 
the  very  Ijest  section  of  the  valley ;  better-kept  farms  and  more  fertile  soil 
are  to  be  found  nearer  the  river  itself,  and  on  the  Dakota  side.  The  sec- 
tion covered  in  the  survey  includes  not  only  land  with  rich  "gumbo"  soil, 
but  also  sandy  land  where  farming  has  not  developed  to  so  high  a  point. 
On  the  whole  this  community  is  typical  of  the  average  Red  River  Valley 
community  in  that  it  stands  midway  between  the  most  highly  developed 
parts  of  the  valley  and  the  poorer  parts. 

This  survey  and  the  one  taken  simultaneously  in  the  "cut-over"  potato 
section  in  eastern  Minnesota,  difi^er  from  that  previously  described  in  that 
an  attempt  has  been  made  to  include  both  a  farming  and  a  village  com- 
munity instead  of  a  farming  community  alone.  A  village  has  been  selected 
as  the  center  of  economic  activities,  and  the  territory  covered  is  that  which 
is  tributary  to  the  village,  that  is,  the  territory  which  uses  the  village  both 
as  a  shipping  point  and  as  a  place  in  which  to  buy  supplies  and  professional 
services.  In  this  way  it  has  been  intended  not  only  to  bring  out  a  com- 
parison between  life  on  the  farm  and  life  in  a  small  Minnesota  village,  but 
also  to  bring  out  the  economic  dependence  of  the  one  on  the  other  In 
this  siu-vey  it  was  found  that  the  differentiation  between  village  life  and 
farm  life  had  developed  to  so  great  an  extent  that  the  two  are  treated 
separately  in  the  presentation  of  the  data.  In  the  eastern  Minnesota  sur- 
vey, on  the  other  hand,  the  village  life  and  farm  life  are  carried  along 
together. 

The  object  of  these  surveys  is  to  subject  to  statistical  measurement 
certain  rural  social  ami  economic  forces  m  order  to  furnish  more  exact 
d^ta_aj  a  foundation  for  constructive  programs  of  rural  betterment.  No 
attempt  is  made  in  the  presentation  of  these  reports  to  offer  such  construct- 
ive programs,  principally  because  the  data  obtained  are  confined  to  such 
restricted  localities  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  make  broad  genexalizations. 
It  is  hoped,  however,  that  as  these  studies  continue,  and  comparisons  of 


iv  PREFACE 

conditions  in  different  communities  are  tlitis  made  possible,  certain  funda- 
mental facts  will  gradually  unfold,  with  the  result  that  sane  and  definite 
methods  of  procedure  may  be  evolved.  In  the  meantime  it  is  also  hoped 
that  the  facts  set  forth  will  not  only  prove  suggestive  to  those  who  are 
studying  the  rural-life  problem,  but  that  these  facts  may  also  furnish  definite 
evidence,  either  corroborative  or  adverse,  as  to  the  wisdom  of  policiesan(l 
theories  that  they  may  be  adv-Dcating^ 

This  series  of  surveys  was  originally  planned  by  Mr.  C.  A\'.  Thompson, 
formerly  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Research  in  Agricultural  Economics, 
University  of  ^Minnesota,  but  since  June.  1913,  with  the  Rural  Organiza- 
tion Service.  The  preliminary  arrangements  for  this  survey  and  the  de- 
tailed planning  of  the  schedules  and  methods  of  procedure  were  perfected 
by  Mr.  Thompson  before  his  resignation  from  the  University  of  Minnesota. 
It  should  also  be  stated  that  Mr.  Thompson  has  given  generously  of  his 
time  in  reading  manuscript  and  in  giving  valuable  counsel  throughout  the 
preparation  of  this  report.  The  field  work  was  performed  during  the  sum- 
-^^^^^xCt '•  .^X^  I  mer  of  1913  by  the  author,  assisted  by  Mr.  C.  A.  Halverson.  The  able 
\~3=^  assistance  of  Miss  Olga  x^xness  in  working  up  the  statistical  results  from 

field  notes  is  gratefully  acknowledged. 

L.  D.  H.  Weld, 
Chief  of  Division 


\^ 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Chapter       I.     Historical  Sketch  and  General  Conditions 1 

Chapter     11.     How  the  Farming  Community  Lives 24 

Chapter  HI.     Marketing  of  Farm  Products 36 

Chapter  IV.     The  Stores  and  Industries  of  the  Village 52 

Chapter     V.     How  the  Village  People  Live 71 

Summary    84 


u 


u 


SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY  OF  A  COMMUNITY 
IN  THE  RED  RIVER  VALLEY 

CHAPTER  I 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  GENERAL  COXDITIOXS 

Scientists  tell  us  that  following  the  glacial  period  as  the  ice  melted  and 
retreated  toward  the  north,  what  is  now  the  Red  River  \'alley  was  the 
southern  arm  of  Lake  Agassiz,  whose  surplus  water  flowed  south  through 
Bigstone  Lake  and  the  Minnesota  River  into  the  Mississippi.  This  arm 
of  the  lake  averaged  about  forty  miles  in  breadth,  and,  as  the  ice  dam  to 
the  north  gradually  receded,  the  water  in  the  lake  fell.  The  heavy  gravel 
and  sand  were  deposited  on  a  series  of  beache<  which  represent  the  levels 


The  Prairie  ;  Timber  along  Stream  in  Distance 

at  which  the  water  stood  at  ditlerent  periods.  The  huer  materials,  silt  and 
clay,  were  deposited  in  the  deeper  waters.  As  time  went  on  the  level  of  the 
lake  became  lower  than  the  southern  outlet  and  water  began  to  flow  north- 
ward. Finally,  with  the  disappearance  of  the  ice,  the  lake  became  dry,  leav- 
ing only  the  Red  River  of  the  North  with  its  tributaries  flowing  into  Lake 
Winnipeg,  a  representative  of  the  early  Lake  Agassiz,  anrl  hnallv  emptving 
into  Hudson  Bay. 

The  community  studied  in  this  survey  is  located   on   land  pre^•iouslv 
covered  by  this  pre-glacial  lake,  and  extends  to  within  about  seven  miles 


■^ 


2  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

of  the  Red  River.  The  country  is  exceedingly  flat,  the  vision  heing  broken 
only  by  timber  along  the  streams,  or  that  planted  for  windbreaks  on  the 
prairie  farms.  The  gradual  recessions  of  the  lake  explain  the  soil  condi- 
tions in  this  community.  In  most  of  the  territory  covered  the  soil  is  a 
rich,  dark,  heavy,  loam,  or  "gumbo";  on  the  east  the  soil  gradually  becomes 
sandy  as  a  low-lying  ridge  is  approached  which  formed  one  of  the  beaches 
of  the  early  lake.  Two  tributaries  of  the  Red  River,  the  Marsh  and  the 
Wild  Rice  rivers,  flow  through  the  district  as  shown  on  the  frontispiece  map. 
The  Marsh  River  is  a  small  and  rather  unimportant  stream ;  the  Wild  Rice 
River  is  a  larger  river,  having  its  source  among  the  lakes  and  swamps  from 
eighty  to  a  hundred  miles  east  of  the  Red  River.  The  beds  of  both  streams 
are  but  little  below  the  level  of  the  prairie,  and  consequently  easily  over- 
flow their  banks,  oftentimes  causing  floods  which  cover  a  considerable  part 
of  the  territory  studied. 

The  Red  River  Valley  was  included  in  the  grant  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  when  it  was  formed  in  1670.^  During  the  eighteenth  and  a  large 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  fur  trade  was  predominant  tlirough  all 
this  northern  country.  It  was  not  until  1800  that  permanent  settlers  ap- 
peared and  cultivated  the  soil,  notably  those  whom  Lork  Selkirk  brought 
from  Scotland  and  northern  Ireland  in  1811.  The  present  boundary  between 
Canada  and  the  United  States  was  not  fixed  until  1818,  and  at  that  time 
many  of  the  original  settlement  moved  north  of  the  boundary  into  Canada. 
Although  the  fur  trade  continued  to  be  the  most  important  source  of  liveli- 
hood, farming  was  carried  on  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  increasing  gradu- 
ally during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  market  for  farm 
products,  which  consisted  largely  of  vegetables,  was  toward  the  north,  where 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  required  large  quantities  of  supplies. 

By  the  early  fifties  trade  began  to  grow  up  between  this  section  and 
southeastern  Minnesota,  which  had  just  begun  to  be  populated.  Cartloads 
of  furs  were  hauled  five  hundred  miles  across  country  to  St.  Paul  to  be  ex- 
changed for  manufactured  articles.  In  1857  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
began  bringing  supplies  to  Canada  in  boats  by  w^ay  of  the  Minnesota  River 
and  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  thus  augmenting  this  trade.  It  is  said 
that  there  were  six  thousand  carts  in  use  in  this  traffic  by  1858.  In  1850 
a  stagecoach  began  to  operate  between  the  head  of  navigation  and  St. 
Cloud,  which  was  reached  by  boat  from  St.  Paul.  In  this  same  year  the 
first  steamer  made  its  ap]:)earance  on  the  river.  Previous  to  1881  Norman 
County,  which  includes  the  territory  surveyed,  was  a  part  of  Polk  County. 
In  1860  the  Federal  Census  showed  that  Polk  County  had  2,100  acres  of 
land  in  farms,  of  which  400  were  improved.  The  principal  crops  as  meas- 
ured by  the  number  of  bushels  in  order  of  their  importance  were  corn  (  !), 

'  The  historical  data  herein  contained  were  taken  largely  from  TItc  Economic  TJistorx  of  the 
Red  River   Valley   hv   T.    I..   Coulter. 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  3 

potatoes,  oats,  wheat,  and  rye.  It  was  also  reported  that  small  quantities 
of  butter,  cheese,  tobacco,  maple  sugar,  l)arley,  hay,  and  slaughtered  ani- 
mals were  produced. 

During  the  Civil  War  Indian  massacres  occurred  in  the  Red  River  \'al- 
ley ;  the  steamboats  stopped  running;  the  stagecoach  was  attacked  and 
looted  ;  agriculture  was  abandoned  ;  and  the  settlements  were  practically  de- 
serted. It  was  not  until  after  the  Civil  War  that  settlers  again  began  to 
come  into  the  Red  River  Valley,  the  westward  movement  of  population  in 
the  United  States  reaching  this  section  about  1870. 

Railroad-building  began  in  Minnesota  during  the  War;  by  1867  the 
St.  Faul  and  Pacific  Railroad  was  built  to  St.  Cloud  and  in  1871  it  was 
pushed  through  to  Breckenridge.  thus  connecting  St.  Paul  with  the  head  of 


Unbroken  Prairie  Held  by  Speculators.     Farmers   Purcbase  tbe  Rigbt  to 

Cut  Hay 

navigation  on  the  Red  River.  Stagecoaches  ran  north  and  south  through 
the  valley  to  Winnipeg,  and  steamer  traffic  increased.  In  1871  the  North- 
ern Pacific  was  finished  across  the  State  from  Duluth  to  "Moorhead.  only 
thirty  miles  south  of  the  locality  studied  in  this  survey. 

In  1870  there  were  only  2,206  whites  in  the  Red  River  Valley  south  of 
the  international  boundary.  The  census  returns  for  that  year  showed  that 
agriculture  was  making  inroads  on  the  fur  business,  and  that  a  diversified 
system  of  farming  was  being  developed  in  the  valley.  It  is  curious  to  note 
that  for  the  first  few  years  of  active  settlement  diversified  farming  was 
the  rule.  The  reasons  assigned  for  this  by  J.  L.  Coulter  in  his  Econonnc 
History  of  the  Red  River  Vallev  were  that  railroad  rates  were  too  high 
to  get  grain  to  market  and  to  bring  supplies  from  distant  markets,  and 
that  the   ravages  of  grasshoppers   discouraged  grain   culture.     The  grass- 


4  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

hoppers  came  in  large  numbers  during  the  early  seventies  and  all  possible 
attempts  were  made  to  eradicate  this  pest.  Finally  in  1877  they  suddenly 
disappeared  and  have  never  come  again  in  numbers  large  enough  to  do 
any  considerable  harm.  This  period  of  diversified  agrictdture  lasted  until 
about  1876. 

Then  came  the  one-crop  system  and  the  bonanza  farms  for  which  the 
Red  River  X'alley  is  famous.  The  Dalrymple  farms  on  the  Dakota  side 
were  first  cultivated  in  1876.  The  Grandin  and  others  were  started  soon 
after.  Although  the  region  surrounding  Ada  was  never  included  in  any 
of  these  immense  farms,  one  of  the  Grandin  farms  is  only  about  fifteen 
miles  to  the  west.  The  fame  of  these  bonanza  farms  quickly  spread,  caus- 
ing an  influx  of  settlers  and  a  mania  for  large  farms  and  grain  culture. 
The  bonanza  farm,  however,  was  the  exception ;  there  were  comparatively 
few  that  ran  over  two  or  three  thousand  acres  apiece.  The  land  in  the 
particular  district  covered  by  the  survey  was  taken  up  by  comparatively 
small  farmers,  although  a  farm  of  five  hundred  acres  in  those  days  was  not 
considered  a  large  farm. 

Railroad  Development 

In  1872  there  were  three  steamers  and  six  barges  on  the  river.  In 
that  year  tracks  were  first  laid  northward  through  the  valley  from  Glyndon 
on  the  Northern  Pacific  through  Ada,  and  to  a  point  north  of  Crookston 
on  the  Red  Lake  River.  A  few  trains  were  run  this  first  season,  but 
the  road  was  closed  for  the  winter.  A  flat  car  with  masts  and  sails  was 
constructed  by  the  settlers,  who  thereby  transported  such  necessaries  as 
they  needed.  Trains  continued  to  be  run  only  in  summer  for  four  or  five 
years,  the  panic  of  1873  retarding  railroad  operations,  but  not  appreciably 
retarding  the  incoming  of  settlers. 

By  1878  the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific  was  continued  northward  to  the  Cana- 
dian boundary,  meeting  the  Canadian  Pacific  at  that  point.  Winnipeg  was 
now  connected  by  railroad  with  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul.  The  day  of  the 
stage-coach  and  the  river  steamer  was  over. 

Mr.  J.  J.  Hill  had  been  engaged  in  the  river  traffic  since  1871.  In 
1879  he  reorganized  the  north  and  south  line  under  the  name  of  St.  Paul, 
Minnea])olis,  and  Manitoba  Railway,  and  began  to  develop  the  system 
which  later  became  the  Great  Northern.  In  that  year  through  connec- 
tion was  made  to  Minnea])()lis  and  St.  Paul  via  Fergus  Falls. 

Ftirther  railroad  developments  that  ])artictilarly  affected  the  district 
with  which  we  are  concerned  were  the  building  in  188.vl884  of  a  branch 
line  north  from  Moorlicad  along  ilie  river  to  Halstad  only  fourteen  mik> 
west  of  Ada.  I'^inally  another  north  and  south  line,  now  the  Northern 
Pacific,  was  built  fourteen  miles  east  of  Ada  in  1886.  The  building  of 
these  two  lines  on  the  west  and  east  respectively  reduced  the  territory  tribu- 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  5 

tary  to  Ada,  which  has  never  become  the  important  city  that  the  early 
settlers  hoped.  For  many  years  they  thought  that  an  east  and  west  line 
would  make  the  town  a  junction  point,  and  frequent  rumors  to  this  effect 
persisted  even  until  the  early  nineties.  No  such  road  has  ever  materialized, 
however,  and  the  village  remains  the  shipping  and  supply  point  of  a  farm- 
ing community  which  is  more  or  less  restricted  in  area,  due  to  the  presence 
of  railroads  fourteen  miles  away  on  either  side. 

General  Agriculti'ral  Conditions 

The  principal  facts  with  regard  to  the  general  organization  of  agri- 
culture and  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  since  1890  are  shown  in  the 
tables  below,  wdiich  are  compiled  from  United  States  census  returns  for 
Norman  County,  in  which  county  the  community  under  consideration  is 
located.  For  comparative  purposes  the  figures  for  1910  include  also  Mahno- 
men Countv,  which  was  formed  from  a  part  of  Norman  County  in   I'^Oi'). 


TABLE  I 

General  Agricultural  Statistics  of  Norman  County  for  1890,  1900,  and  1910 
(including  Mahnomen  County  for  1910) 


1890 

1900 

1910 

Number  of  farms                    

1,698 

323,191 

190 

182,628 

56.5 

$3,320,280 

$10.27 

1,938 

428,985 

221 

316,597 

73.8 

$6,882,260 

$16.04 

$1,120,750 

$456,750 

$236 

$1,155,870 

1,901 

Land  in  farms  (acres) 

Average  number  of  acres  per  farm 

Improved  land  in  farms  (acres) 

Percentage  of  land  improved 

Value  of  land  and  improvements 

Value  per  acre  of  land  m  farms    

460,529 

242 

338,901 

73.6 

$17,605,282 

$38.23 

Value  of  buildings 

$2,631,554 

Value  of  implements  and  machinery 

Value  of  machinery  per  farm 

Value  of  live  stock 

$261,390 

$154 

$751,490 

$681,664 

$359 

$1,936,748 

The  average  size  of  farms  in  the  county  has  been  increasing,  while  the 
actual  number  of  farms  has  decreased  between  1900  and  1910.  The  aver- 
age size  of  farms  included  in  the  survey  is  291.2  acres,  or  .^0  acres  larger 
than  the  average  for  the  county.  Eighteen  of  the  201  farms  visited  have 
500  acres  or  more,  and  one  has  1,000  acres.  Many  of  the  farmers  are  "land 
crazy,"  and  seem  to  have  an  ambition  to  add  to  their  acreage. 

The  value  of  land  and  improvements  in  the  county  has  increased  from 
an  average  of  $10.27  per  acre  in  1890  to  $38.23  in  1910.  The  value  of 
land  in  farms  covered  by  this  survey  in  1913  ranged  from  $40  to  $60  or  $70 
per  acre,  with  an  approximate  average  of  $50  per  acre.  Improved  land 
constitutes  70.2  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the  farms  visited.  It  will  be  no- 
ticed  from  the  census  figures  in  the  table  above  that  the   total  value  of 


6  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

buildings  and  the  value  of  buildings  per   farm  in  this  county  more  than 
doubled  between  1900  and  1910. 

Crops 

Changes  that  have  taken  place  in  agricultural  methods  are  indicated 
by  the  following  tables  which  show  the  principal  crops  and  the  condition 
of  the  live-stock  industry  in  Xorman  County  for  the  last  three  decennial 
census  years. 

TABLE  II 
Principal  Crops  of  Norm  ax  County  1889,  1899,  and  1909  (inxludixg  Mahxomen 

County  for  1909) 


1889 

1899 

1909 

Acres 

Bushels 

Acres 

Bushels 

Acres 

Bushels 

Barley 

Corn.' 

Oats 

Rye 

Wheat 

3,691 

143 

23,438 

56 

107,415 

903 

56,051 

2,544 

315,403 

530 

1,233,249 

71,159 

8,781 

450 

31,676 

150 

137,419 

858 

202,820 

12,790 

754,550 

2,120 

1,459,030 

96,881 

33,348 
2,359 

55,814 
2,919 

84,885 
1,514 

707,779 
66,950 

1,417,324 
48,727 

1,265,739 

Potatoes 

165,118 

Hay  and  forage .... 

Acres 
52,876 

Tons 
29,713 

Acres 
59,941 

Tons 
62,740 

Acres 
72,704 

Tons 
72,006 

TABLE  III 
Principal  Animals  on  Farms  in  Xorman  County  1890.  1900.  and  1910  (including 
Mahnomf.n  County  for  1910) 


1890 

1900 

1910 

Working  oxen 

Milch  cows 

Other  cattle 

1,089 
7,208 
9,328 

8,972 
12,736 

13,101 
15,513 

Total  cattle 

17,625 

21,708 

28,614 

Horses 

Sheep 

Swine           

5,987 

4,908 

4,129 

41,771 

11,350 
6,129 
6,777 

69,443 

11,009 
6,225 
6,173 

Poultry  (all  kinds) 

106,234 

The  most  prominent  fcatiu'es  of  the  agricultural  methods  of  this  com- 
munity are  the  dependence  on  grain-farming  and  the  relative  backwardness 
of  the  live-stock  and  dairy  industry.  Wheat  is  the  most  important  crop 
l)Oth  in  acreage  and  in  value,  though  oats  exceeded  wheat  in  1909  in  number 
of   bushels   produced.      Comparison   with   earlier   years    indicates   that   the 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


7 


acreage  devoted  to  wheat  has  fallen  off  substantially,  and  that  other  field 
crops,  notably  barley  and  oats,  have  largely  taken  its  place. 

Corn  is  raised  to  only  a  small  extent,  although  the  acreage  for  the 
county  in  1909  was  a  great  deal  larger  than  in  1S99,  and  the  figures  ob- 
tained during  the  siu'vey  indicate  that  corn-growing  has  increased  very 
rapidly  since  1909.  In  fact  the  total  number  of  acres  planted  to  corn  in 
1913  by  the  201  farmers  visited  was  2,463,  an  amount  actually  larger  than 
the  acreage  for  the  whole  county  in  1909,  according  to  the  census  figures. 
This  phenomenal  increase  is  due  to  three  causes :  first,  a  decided  agitation 
for  the  production  of  more  corn  that  is  sweeping  through  the  Red  River 
\'alley ;  second,  the  influence  of  the  agricultural  instructor  in  the  local 
high  school ;  and,  third,  the  need  of  cultivated  crojxs  to  kill  oft"  noxious 
weeds  that  infest  the  land.     Of  the  201   farms  visited  there  were  146,  or 


The  Only  Silo  in  the  Community  Covered  by  the  Survey 

72.6  per  cent,  that  reported  some  corn.  The  average  acreage  of  corn  for 
these  146  farms  was  16.9.  There  were  two  farms  with  60  acres  each 
planted  in  1913  ;  one  with  50  acres  ;  two  with  45  acres  ;  and  six  with  40  acres. 
There  were  a  great  many  who  had  planted  only  from  5  to  10  acres,  appar- 
ently with  the  idea  of  trying  it  as  an  experiment.  Judging  from  the  general 
sentiment,  the  farmers  will  undoubtedly  increase  their  acreage  rapidly  in 
the  future.  There  was  but  one  farm  of  all  those  visited  that  had  a  silo, 
and  this  had  just  been  built.  There  are  numerous  other  farmers,  however, 
that  are  contemplating  the  liuilding  of  silos  in  the  near   future. 

Potato-growing  has  not  become  important  in  this  section,  although 
the  census  figures  show  that  it  is  increasing.  Of  course  prac*^ically  all 
families  raise  potatoes  for  their  own  consumption,  and  a  few  raise  more 
than  they  need  in  order  to  trade  them  at  the  stores  in  the  village ;  but 
not  more  than  seven  or  eight  farmers  among  those  visited  really  raise  them 


8 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


cJ^^ 


on  a  commercial  basis.     Two  of  these  had  85  acres  apiece  in   1913;  the 
rest  had  less  than  30  acres  apiece. 

Cropping  Systems 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  from  the  census  figures  that  there 
has  been  a  decided  decrease  in  the  acreage  devoted  to  wheat  since  1899. 
and  that  barley  and  oats  have  been  largely  substituted  in  its  place.  This 
change  has  been  helpful  in  reducing  the  competition  of  crops  for  the 
farmer's  labor  during  the  rush  seasons,  as  well  as  in  cutting  down  the 
risk  due  to  certain  plant  diseases,  but  it  has  not  helped  to  build  up  or 
maintain  the  productivitv  of  the  soil,  for  all  of  these  crops  remove  about 
the  same  kind  and  amount  of  soil  fertility  and  leave  the  soil  in  the  same 
])hysical  condition.  The  straw  has  been  burned  after  threshing,  and  even 
the  stubbles  have  met  with  a  similar  fate  ;  as  a  result  the  vegetable  matter 
has  been  depleted  to  such  an  extent  that  much  of  the  soil  is  in  very  poor 
physical  condition.  At  present  many  farmers  allow  their  straw  piles  to 
decay  and  then  spread  them  back  on  the  fields,  but  even  now  the  frequent 
bonfires  ilkiminating  the  heavens  at  night  indicate  that  there  still  remain 
some  who  have  no  adecjuate  conception  of  what  conservation  of  soil  fer- 
tility means. 

Along  with  the  depletion  of  vegetable  matter  has  gone  a  decrease  in 
the  nitrogen  content.  Little  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  growing  legtimi- 
nous  crops  to  counteract  this  decrease.  There  is  a  common  belief  among 
many  of  the  farmers  that  clover  or  alfalfa  will  not  grow  in  the  Red  River 
Valley  on  accotmt  of  the  severe  winters.  The  snowfall  is  often  meager, 
and  the  stormy  winds,  sweeping  over  the  flat  fields,  pile  much  of  the  snow 
up  along  the  roads  and  fences,  leaving  the  fields  unprotected  against  the 
heavv  frosts.  Several  small  fields  with  good  stands  of  clover  were  fotmd. 
however,  and  a  number  of  successful  alfalfa  plots  had  been  recently  started, 
some  of  them  through  the  efiforts  of  the  agricultural  dej3artiii£nt_of__the 
highschool.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  clover  and  alfalfa  are  destined  to 
play  an  nnportant  role  in  the  cropping  systems  of  the  future.  Indeed,  it 
is  diflicult  to  see  how  the  community  can  continue  to  prosper  without 
tliem.  But  it  will  ref]uire  persistent  effort  and  more  hearty  cooperation 
l)etween  landlord  and  tenant  to  establish  firmly  these  leguminous  crops. 
Tenants  who  have  only  a  one-year  lease  do  not  spend  money  and  effort 
'on  enter])rises.  the  benefits  of  whicli  are  likely  to  be  reaped  by  someone 
nelse.  Landlords  must  show  more  liberality  in  the  way  of  inducements  be- 
fore their  tenants  will  grow  those  crops  which,  while  they  may  bring 
in  a  smaller  immediate  return,  will  increase  the  ])roducing  capacity  of  the 
soil.  Under  present  unsettled  conditions,  when  land  changes  hands  so  fre- 
(luently,  progress  in  this  direction  can  not  l)e  expected  to  be  very  rapid, 
l)Ut  some  landlords  are  showing  an  interest  in  this  ])rol)k'ni. 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  9 

Corn  is  undoubtedly  the  crop  that  is  growing  most  rapidly  in  favor. 
Farmers  coming  in  from  Iowa,  Illinois,  and  southern  Minnesota  have  given 
a  great  impetus  to  corn  culture.  Many  landlords  residing  in  the  sections 
just  named,  but  owning  land  in  the  territory  covered  by  this  survey,  ^ffer 
diejr  teiTantsthe  free  use  of  land^devoted  to  corn,  stipulating  of  course 
that  the  ground  must  be  kept  free  from  weeds.  They  iind  it  profitable 
to  do  this  because,  as  a  rule,  land  on  wdiich  corn  has  been  grown  will 
yield  much  better  the  next  year.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  thorough 
cultivation  kills  many  of  the  weeds,  and  also  aerates  the  soil  and  puts  it  in 
better  condition  for  the  crops  that  follow. 

Much  of  the  land  included  in  the  survey  is  badly  infe.st'"''!  ^^''-^^^  ^ypprl^^^ 
The  most  troublesome  annual  weeds  are  wild  oats  and  kinghead.  Quack 
grass  and  Ca.nada  thistle  are  the  two  most  troublesome  perennial  weeds,  but 
neither  of  these  is  as  prevalent  as  wild  oats  and  kinghead.  Some  fields 
sown  to  small  grain  were  found  in  which  the  wild  oats  had  absolute  con- 
trol. Conditions  in  this  respect  would  be  improved  if  more  cultivated 
crops  and  less  small  grain  were  grown. 

Live  Stock 

That  mixed  farming  is  slowly  developing  is  shown  by  the  increase 
in  cattle.  The  number  of  dairy  cows  in  the  county  increased  46  per  cent 
between  1900  and  1910,  and  the  number  of  other  cattle,  21.8  per  cent. 
And  yet  the  average  number  of  dairy  cows  per  farm  on  the  farms  visited 
(luring  the  survey  is  only  -£9,  while  for  the  state  of  Minnesota  as  a  whole 
it  was  6.9  in  1909.  Sheep-  and  hog-raising  are  only  holding  their  own. 
Ten  per  cent  of  the  farms  reported  sheep,  with  an  average  of  twelve  per 
farm.  One  hundred  and  thirty-eight  farms,  or  only  68.6  per  cent  of  all 
those  visited,  reported  mature  hogs.  This  represents  approximately  the 
number  that  breed  hogs,  and  these  farms  had  an  average  of  3.2  mature 
hogs  apiece.  Many  families  buy  pigs  to  raise  during  the  summer  and  fall, 
and  slaughter  them  for  their  own  consumption  during  the  winter  and  spring. 
Poultry-raising  is  increasing  rapidly,  but  very  little  attention  is  paid  either 
to  breeding  or  to  proper  housing. 

Comparatively  little  attention  has  been  given  to  breeding.  Eighty-nine 
farms,  or  44.2  per  cent,  keep  l)ulls,  of  wdiich  eighteen  are  claimed  to  be 
of  pure  blood.     The  l)ulls  may  be  classified  as  follows: 

Pure-bred  I  lolstein    6 

Pure-bred  Hereford 5 

Pure-bred  Short  Horn 3 

Pure-bred  Red  Poll    2 

Pure-bred  Angus   1 

Pure-bred  Jersey   1 


10 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


Grade  Holstein    2 

Grade  Jersey   2 

Grade  Short  Horn  and  scrub 67 

Total   89 

The  prevaihng  stock  is  Short  Horn.  Some  of  the  grade  Short  Horn 
bulls  are  of  very  good  quality,  but  most  of  them  are  of  the  scrub  variety. 
The  dual  purpose  i^lea_is  predominant ;  the  few  who  have  gone  into  pure- 
bred stock  are  about  evenly  divided  between  dairy  and  beef  types.  A  very 
excellent  herd  of  Aberdeen  Angus  cattle,  just  imported,  re])resents  the  most 
noticeable  effort  toward  live-stock  improvement  found  in  the  community. 

Farm  Machinery 

The  use  of  farm  machinery  is  of  special  interest  in  this  section  be- 
cause it  is  on  the  flat  prairies  of  the  Red  River  Valley  that  the  highest 


Threshing  Scene 


development  in  the  use  of  farm  machinery  has  ])een  reached.  This  com- 
munity oft'ers  little  of  interest,  however,  in  the  historical  develojimcnl  of 
farm  machinery  because  most  of  the  important  inventions  came  about  be- 
fore this  part  of  the  State  was  settled.  This  is  true  of  the  steam  threshing 
outfit  and  the  binder.  At  present  only  three  of  the  farmers  visited  own 
their  own  tlireshing  machines.      Men  in   the  village  own  machines  and  go 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


11 


about  from  farm  to  farm  durini^  tlie  harvesting  season.  The  farmers  help 
each  other  during  liarvesting,  thus  offering  an  interesting  example  of  in- 
formal cooperation.  That  the  ownership  and  use  of  farm  machinery  are 
increasing  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  value  of  implements  and  ma- 
chinery per  farm  in  the  whole  county  increased  from  $236  in  1900  to 
$359  in  1910.     (See  Table  I.) 

Most  of  the  farmers  plow  with  horses.  In  the  early  days  oxen  were 
commonly  used.  Many  of  the  original  settlers  drove  into  the  country  with 
oxen  ;  some  sold  their  oxen  to  settlers  who  were  going  farther  west.  Oxen 
gradually  disappeared,  although  there  were  1,089  reported  in  the  county  as 
late  as  1890.  One  farmer  included  in  this  survey  still  does  his  farm  work 
with  oxen  and  even  hauls  his  grain  to  market  with  them.  The  reason  he 
gave  was  that  oxen  furnish  cheaper  power  than  horses.     Tie  had  moved 


These  Plows  are  Coming  into  Common  Use 

in  a  few  years  before  from  the  cut-over  section  of  northern  Minnesota.  In 
recent  years  traction  engines  have  been  displacing  horses  in  plowing,  and 
gang  plows  which  turn  from  eight  to  twelve  furrows  are  in  use.  Out 
of  the  201  farms  visited,  15,  or  7 .S  per  cent,  have  tractors  of  their  own. 
Eight  of  these  are  steam  tractors,  and  seven  are  gasoline.  Other  farmers 
hire  tractors  for  their  plowing.  Gasoline  tractors  are  commonly  used  for 
plownng,  while  the  steam  tractors  are  mostly  used  for  threshing. 

As  for  other  machinery,  practicallv  all  farmers  own  binders.  Those 
most  commonly  used  in  the  community  are  seven-  or  eight-foot  cuts,  pulled 
by  four  horses.  Only  a  few  farmers  were  found  using  the  l)ig  twelve-foot 
binders,  with  the  power  applied  behind  instead  of  in  front.     The  users  of 


12 


L.  I).  H.  WELD 


I 


these  big  jjusli  hinders  \vere  enthusiastic  over  the  results  they  were  obtain- 
ing, one  man  claiming  he  could  cut  as  much  grain  a  day  alone  with  six 
horses  as  two  men  with  eight  horses  could  harvest  using  the  seven-foot 
binders.  While  this  proportion  possibly  would  not  hold  as  an  average,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  the  big  machines  economize  manual  labor  appre- 
ciably. ( )ne  third  of  those  visited  own  manure  spreaders,  and  this  is  a 
recent  develoi)ment.  The  number  of  acres  over  which  manure  had  been 
spread  din"ing  the  season  1912-1913  averaged  13.7  for  all  farms  included 
in  the  survey.  Nineteen  per  cent  of  all  farmers  visited  have  forges  and  do 
a  substantial  part  of  their  own  blacksmithing.  Most  of  the  farms  have 
cream  separators  ;  whole  milk  is  not  taken  to  the  creamery  at  all. 

Nationalities  ok  Heads  of  Families 
Percentage  of  Total 


Norwegian     47.8% 


German 


26.7' 


American        13.7% 


All  others      11.8' 


NaTIOiXALITY 

The  nationality  of  this  community  is  j2J."'-"'^""^i"'^i"'tlv  Scandinaviam  The 
census  figures  show  that  the  population  for  the  whole  county  in  which  this 
community  is  located  was  13,446  in  1910;  that  11.7  per  cent  were  native- 
born  of  native  parents ;  that  60  j^er  cent  were  native-born  of  foreign  or 
mixed  parentage;  and  that  28.3  per  cent  were  foreign-born.  Of  the  foreign- 
born  77. <S  per  cent  were  Norwegian,  and  of  the  native-born  of  foreign  par- 
entage, 79.3  per  cent  were  Norwegian.  Of  the  other  nationalities,  (/icrmans 
were  the  most  numerous. 

In  the  following  table,  which  shows  the  nationalities  of  heads  of  fami- 
lies in  the  region  covered  by  this  survey,  the  figures  for  each  country  indi- 
cate not  only  those  who  were  actually  l)orn  in  that  country,  but  also 
those  whose  parents  wx're  born  in  that  country.  In  other  words,  no  attempt 
is  made  to  distinguish  between  "foreign-born"  and  "native-born  of  foreign 
parents." 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURCEY 


U 


TABLE  IV 
Nationality  of  Heads  of  Families 


Country 

Village 

Total 

Xatioxalitv 

Per  cent 

Per  cent 

Per  cent 

Number 

of  total 

Number 

of  total 

Number 

of  total 

Norwegian 

96 

47.8 

96 

47.8 

192 

47.8 

German 

61 

30.3 

45 

22.4 

106 

26.7 

American 

22 

10.8 

33 

16.4 

55 

13.7 

Swedish 

9 

4.4 

3 

1.5 

12 

3.0 

Irish 

4 

2.0 

4 

2.0 

8 

2.0 

Sw-iss 

3 

1.5 

5 

2.5 

8 

2   0 

English 

0 

5 

2.5 

5 

1.2 

Canadian 

0 

4 

2.0 

4 

1.0 

Danish 

2 

1.0 

2 

1.0 

4 

1.0 

French 

2 

1.0 

1 

0.5 

3 

0.8 

Scotch 

1 

0.5 

1 

0.5 

7 

0.5 

PoUsh 

1 
0 
0 

0.5 

0 

1 
1 

0^5' 
0.5 

1 

1 
1 

* 

Welch 

* 

Jewish 

* 

Totals 

201 

99.8 

201 

100.1 

402 

100.0 

*Less  than  O.S^c. 

It  is  shown  by  the  preceding  table  that  nearly  half  of  the  families 
visited  are  Norwegian,  and  that  the  proportion  is  the  same  in  both  country 
and  village.  Germans  form  over  one  fourth  of  the  total,  and  nearly  one 
third  of  those  on  farms,  i'ure  Americans  form  only  13.7  per  cent  of  the 
total  and  are  more  numerous  in  the  village  than  in  the  country.  These  three 
nationalities  form  88.2  per  cent  of  the  total. 

Ownership  and  Tenancy 

For  the  county  as  a  whole,  according  to  censtis  reports  20.4  per  cent  of 
tlTe_  farms  were  operated  l)y  tenants  in  l')10_as  compared  with  only  1 1 .8 
])er  cent  in  I'^jOOy  Of  the  201  families  covered  by  the  survey,  70.  or  34.5 
])er  cent,  were  renters,  a  fact  which  indicates  that  tenancv  is  more  common 
in  this  partictilar  section  than  in  the  rest  of  the  county.  Oi  the  133  families 
who  own  their  farms,  25  operate  rented  land  in  addition.  Share  tenancv 
prevails,  the  owner  and  renter  each  receiving  half  of  the  product  of  the 
farm,  and  dividing  the  expenses  of  seed,  twine,  and  threshing. 

The  increase  of  tenancy  in  this  section  is  causing  alarm  among  the 
farmers  and  townspeople,  and  the  activity  of  land  spectilators  is  perhaps  the 
one  thing  above  all  others  that  is  complained  of  most  bitterly.  The  reasori 
generally  assigned  for  the  growth  of  tenancy  is  that  old  settlers  who  ob- 
tained their  land  for  practically  nothing  have  been  induced  to  sell  by  what 
seems  to  them  the  generous  offers  of  the  land  men.  These  land  men  often 
make  large  profits  on  single  transactions.     Five  dollars  an  acre  is  a  small 


14  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

protit  for  them;  it  more  commonly  runs  up  to  ten  dollars  an  acre,  and 
sometimes  to  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars.  Many  a  retired  farmer  in  the  vil- 
lage dei)lores  the  fact  that  he  ever  sold  out ;  and  farmers  still  on  the  land 
complain  most  bitterly  of  the  operations  of  the  land  speculators.  i 

Some  of  the  owners  of  rented  land  live  in  the  neighborhood,  exercise 
a  general  supervision  over  their  tenants,  and  keep  the  farm  buildings  in 
good  repair.  More  commonly  the-mmers  live  at  a  distance  ;  they  consider 
themselves  only  temporary  owners  and  consequently  follow  the  short-sighted 
policy  of  allowing  the  buildings  to  run  down  and  of  encouraging  their 
renters  to  farm  for  immediate  profit  rather  than  for  ultimate  develop- 
ment and  improvement.  As  leases  run  for  onlv  one  vear.  renters  need 
little  encouragement  to  exploit  the  lands  under  the  one-crop  system.  One 
efficient  farmer  was  found  who  had  rented  the  same  land  for  eleven  years 
in  succession,  but  the  farm  had  changed  hands  within  the  year  preceding 
the  investigation  and  the  new  owner  had  already  begun  to  neglect  the  farm 
buildings  and  to  insist  on  a  system  of  cropping  that  would  yield  more 
immediate  returns,  with  the  result  that  this  desirable  tenant  was  contem- 
plating a  change. 

Schools 

The  village  has  a  good  high  school  where  courses  are  given  in  agri- 
culture, domestic  science,  and  manual  training ;  there  is  also  a  normal  de- 
partment. Outside  of  the  village,  the  territory  covered  by  the  survey  is  in- 
cluded mainly  in  thirteen  school  districts,  each  with  a  typical  country  school. 
There  are  no  consolidated  schools  in  this  territory,  although  the  establish- 
ment of  such  a  school  is  being  seriously  considered  in  one  township.  The 
great  distances  between  farms,  involving  long-distance  hauls,  and  the  lack 
of  interest  on  the  part  of  farmers  who  live  near  the  present  schools,  ap- 
pear to  be  factors  that  s'tand  in  the  way  of  the  consolidated-school  move- 
ment. Most  of  the  farmers  do  not  like  to  send  their  children  to  town 
schools.  As  one  expressed  it,  "The  village  schools  educate  the  children  away 
from  the  farm."  There  is  a  feeling  among  some  farmers  that  nine  months 
is  too  long  a  period  for  school  to  be  in  session.  Others  complain  that  the 
schools  try  to  teach  too  many  different  subjects,  and  none  thoroughly 
enough ;  still  others  are  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  schools  as  they  are 
and  see  no  need  of  any  changes.  The  principal  facts  with  regard  to  seven- 
teen rural  schools  in  this  locality  appear  in  the  following  table : 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


15 


TABLE  V 
Facts  Concerning  Rural  School  p.y  School  Districts 


No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No.  i  No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

48 

49 

51 

68 

78 

6 

24 

67       34 

45 

32 

22 

73 

19 

20 

88 

23 

Enrollment 

2.S 

20 

.^2 

20 

9 

22 

10 

10 

26 

17 

29 

24 

14 

26 

20 

22 

17 

Months  of  school 

8 

8 

8 

8 

6 

8 

5 

5 

8 

8 

8 

8 

7 

6 

7 

8 

8 

Grade  of  teacher. 

iRt 

1st 

1st 

1st 

2d 

2d 

3d 

2d 

1st 

1st 

1st 

1st 

2d 

2d 

2d 

1st 

1st 

Salary  of  teacher 

$50 

$50 

$55 

$45- 
*$50 

$45 

$47.50 

$45 

$40 

$60 

$50 

■    $55 

$50 

$45- 
$50 

$45 

$50 

$50 

$50 

Months    of    pre- 

vious   teaching 

experience .... 

0 

15 

40 

0 

0 

18 

6 

12 

** 

14 

72 

16 

14 

0 

14 

8 

0 

Teacher  pavs  for 

\ 

Lived 

1 

board  and  room 

at 

\ 

per  month  .... 

$10 

$12 

$12 

$10 

$12 

$10 

$10 

$6  1 

home 

|$12 

*** 

*** 

$10 

$10 

$14 

$10 

$12 

Does   teacher   do 

own     i  a  n  i  t  o  r 

( 

**** 

1 

work' 

Yes 

No 

Yes    Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

*** 

Yes 

Yesl 

No 

(Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Nationality     of 

teacher 

Nor. 

Nor. 

Nor.  Nor.i  Nor. 

Nor. 

Nor. 

Nor. 

Nor.j  Nor. 

Nor. 

Nor. 

Nor.i  Nor. 

Ger. 

Nor. 

Ger. 

Age  of  teacher. . . 

20-25 

20-25 

20-25  UnderUnder 

20-25 

20-25 

20 

OverUnder 

Over 

20-25 

Under20-25 

20-25 

20-25 

20-25 

20        20 

25 

20 

25 

20 

Tax  lew  (mills) .. 

10.0 

9.0 

8.4 

4.3      6.0 

6.1 

5.0 

X 

5.06 

2.5 

3.8 

3.0 

7.2      3.0 

9.5 

4.5 

4.0 

Total  tax  levy  for, 

schools 

S60C 

$548 

$355 

$2501  $250 

$350 

$200 

X 

$300 

$150 

$265 

$200 

$380l  $235 

$415 

$255 

$215 

Special  state  a:d . 

$125 

$125 

$85 

$125 

0 

$85 

0 

X 

$125 

$125 

$85 

$125 

$65,     0 

$65 

$125 

$125 

State     apportion- 

ment  

.'if;?4r 

,<i;iK7 

$''07 

$189 

$10? 

$161 

$98 

X 

$22'J 

$20V 

$'^S.S 

$237 

$162 

$239 

$16V 

$79 

$1?6 

Total  funds  avail- 

able    I  $96.S 

$860 

$647 

$564 

$352 

$596 

$298 

X 

$654 

$482 

$605 

$562 

$607 

$474 

$647 

$459 

$539 

*Forty-five  dollars  for  first  four  months  and  fifty  dollars  tor  second  four  months. 
**Several  years. 
'**Information  not  obtained. 
'**Teacher  paid  two  dollars  per  month  to  have  work  done. 

xXo  school  in  1912-1913.     Figures  given  are  for  previous  year. 


Summary  of  Preceding  Table 

Average  enrollment   20.2 

Months  of  school : 

Number  having  5  months 2 

Number  having  6  months 2 

Number  having  7  months 2 

Number  having  8  months 11 

Grade  of  teacher: 

Number  of  first  grade 10 

Number  of  second  grade 6 

Number  of  third  grade 1 

Previous  teaching  experience  of  teache'": 

Less  than  12  months 7 

From  12  to  24  months 7 

Over  24  months 3 

Average  salary  per  month $49.26 

Teachers  doing  janitor  work 13 

Teachers  not  doing  janitor  work 4=* 


*  One  teacher  hires   a  boy. 


16  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

SuMJ[ARY  OF  Preceding  Table — Continued 

Nationality  of  teacher: 

Norwegian   1  :^ 

German 2 

Age  of  teacher : 

Under  20  years -I- 

From  20  to  25  years 11 

Over  25  years 2 

Total  revenue  available  for  schools : 

Schools  with  less  than  S500 5 

Schools  with  from  S500  to  $600 4 

Schools  with  from  $600  to  $700 5 

Schools  with  over  $700 2 

The  average  ages  of  pupils  in  the  various  grades  of  these  seventeen 
schools,  together  with  four  other  schools  in  the  immediate  neighborhood, 
appear  in  the  following  table.  These  are  rough  averages  based  on  a  very 
small  number  of  cases  for  the  higher  grades. 

Grade  Average  Age 

First 7.Z 

Second   8.1 

Third 9.5 

Fourth 10.9 

Fifth 12.1 

Sixth   13.1 

Seventh   13.9 

Eighth  14.8 

\'ery  few  children  are  graduated  from  the  eighth  grade.  In  the  whole 
county  of  about  one  hundred  school  districts  there  were  but  fifteen  who 
completed  the  eighth  grade  in  1912.  sixteen  in  1911,  and  sixteen  in  1910, 
or  a  total  of  forty-seven  in  three  years.  The  following  statement  shows 
what  these  fortv-seven  eighth-grade  graduates  were  doing  during  the  vear 
1912-1913: 

Attending  high  school 18 

Attending  normal  school 9 

-At  home  on  farm 5 

Attending  college 2 

Attending  business  school 1 

Unknown    12 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  17 

This  summary  indicates  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  children  who 
complete  the  grades  enter  high  and  normal  schools. 

Although  the  facts  and  figures  given  above  indicate  a  very  unsatis- 
factory condition  among  the  rural  schools,  it  should  be  mentioned  that  im- 
provements are  being  effected  as  rapidly  as  possible.  It  was  not  until  1909 
that  the  schools  were  graded  at  all,  or  that  regular  promotions  or  examina- 
tions Avere  required.  This  partly  accounts  for  the  small  number  of  eighth- 
grade  graduates.  For  the  year  1913-1914  there  were  thirty-five  graduates 
in  the  county.  The  Illinois  State  Course  of  Study  is  followed,  and  March 
and  May  examinations  are  regularly  offered  in  twenty-four  rural  schools 
in  the  county. 

Improvements  are  also  being  made  in  the  schoolhouses  and  their 
equipment.  During  the  school  year  of  1913-1914,  three  schools  have  been 
furnished  with  hot-lunch  equipmeirt  and  a  like  number  with  ])lay  or  recrea- 
tion apparatus.  One  has  had  manual  training  equipment  added,  while  others 
have  been  furnished  with  new  ventilating  systems,  and  new  metal  walls 
and  ceilings.  Attention  has  also  been  given  to  better  decoration  of  the 
walls  of  the  schools,  and  to  better  up-keep  of  the  buildings. 

Drainage 

The  problem  of  drainage  on  this  flat,  low-lying  country  is  a  serious 
one,  especially  because  of  the  tendency  of  the  streams  to  overflow  their  banks 
during  particularly  heavy  rainfalls.  Only  two  of  the  201  farms  visited  had 
tile  drainage.     What  drainage  there  is,  is  done  by  means  of  open  ditches. 

Apparently  the  first  serious  loss  from  floods  after  the  settlement  of 
this  district  occurred  in  1885.  The  local  paper  reported  that  probably  one 
third  of  the  crop  was  destroyed  that  year.  In  1886  a  convention  was  called 
in  Crookston  to  consider  the  drainage  question,  and  it  was  decided  to  have 
a  survey  made  of  the  five  valley  counties  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
the  possibilities  and  expense  of  providing  an  efficient  drainage  system.  Half 
of  the  money  for  this  survey  was  given  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Hill;  the  other  half 
was  raised  by  assessing  the  five  counties  on  the  basis  of  acreage. 

The  agitation  for  drainage  at  this  time  died  out,  however,  without 
anything  being  done.  This  has  been  the  general  rule ;  interest  in  the  drain- 
age .problem  has  been  aroused  in  flood  years,  only  to  subside  during  the 
dry  years.  It  was  not  until  1893  that  the  people  began  to  take  hold  of  the 
problem  seriously,  and  meetings  were  held  in  this  locality  to  consider  means 
of  preventing  the  overflow  of  the  Wild  Rice  River.  In  that  same  year  the 
-State  Drainage  Commission  let  contracts  for  two  state  ditches  in  this 
county,  one  of  these  passing  through  the  territory  covered  by  this  survey. 
Nothing  was  done  by  the  county  itself  at  that  time,  and  the  matter  lay 
dormant  until  bad  floods  in  1897  again  awakened  interest.  It  was  not  until 
about  1900  that  the  county  began  to  construct  ditches,  and  since  that  time 


18 


L.  D.  H.  J  VELD 


there  have  been  huiu  within  the  county  twenty-seven  ditches  at  a  total  cost 
of  $ir)8.000.  In  addition  there  have  been  constructed  two  "judicial"  ditches 
along  the  county  line  for  which  Norman  County  contributed  half  the  cost, 
or  $25,000. 

It  is  a])parent  that  these  ditches  can  not  take  care  of  bad  Hoods.  Wet 
years  occurred  in  1905.  1906,  and  1907,  and  a  very  severe  flood  in  1909, 
due  to  heavy  rainfalls  farther  u])  the  valley  of  the  Wild  Rice  River.  It  is 
claimed  that  wdiat  the  farmers  lost  through  this  flood  they  more  than 
made  tip  the  two  or  three  years  following,  owing  to  the  increased  produc- 
tivity of  their  land  that  had  been  flooded.  Since  1909  there  has  been  evolved 
an  elaborate  scheme  for  deepening  and  straightening  the  Wild  Rice  River 
in  order  to  prevent  the  overflow  of  its  banks,  but  the  assessments  on  the 


The  Country  is  so  Flat  that  Occasionally  it  Becomes  Flooded 

property  owners  who  w^ould  be  benefited  must  be  so  heavy  that  during  the 
summer  of  1913  there  seemed  little  likelihood  of  its  going  through.  There 
has  been  no  trouble  from  floods  since  1909,  and  that  partly  accounts  for 
the  lack  of  interest  at  present.  Furthermore,  complaints  are  common  -that 
the  farmers  along  the  river,  who  would  be  assessed  according  to  acreage, 
have  reported  an  unduly  small  number  of  acres  on  the  farms  that  would 
be  benefited  by  such  a  project. 

Ro.\Ds  AND  Bridges 

Roads  follow  section  lines  and  are  consequently  straight  and  run 
either  north  and  south  or  east  and  west.  Owing  to  the  flatness  of  the 
country,   there   are   no  grades.      The   heavy  gumbo   soil   makes  good   hard 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVF.Y 


19 


roads  in  dry  weather,  and  hea\  y  muddy  roads  in  wet  weather.  The  mud 
does  not  become  very  deep  during  ordinary  rains,  however,  and  the  roads 
dry  oil  fairly  rapidly  when  the  weather  clears.  This  rapid  drying  leaves 
them  very  rough,  and  they  require  several  days  of  traffic  to  make  them 
smooth  and  even.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  territory  surveyed,  where 
the  soil  is  sandy,  the  roads  are  better  in  rainy  weather,  and  become  soft 
and  dusty  during  dry  weather.  Practically  all  roads  are  graded,  but,  since 
gravel  is  not  found  in  this  section,  the  expense  of  bringing  it  in  by  rail 
has  not  been  undertaken  except  in  one  or  two  instances.  Even  the  roads 
in  the  village  are  not  graveled,  and  they  become  very  unsightly  when  wet. 
There  are  not  more  than  two  miles  of  gravel  road  in  the  whole  territory 
covered. 


An  Efficient  Method  of  Road  Grading 


The  time-honored  custom  of  working  out  the  road  tax  is  in  vogue, 
except  in  one  township  where  the  farmers  of  their  own  accord  in  about 
1907  substituted  a  monev  tax  with  satisfaction  to  all  concerned.  In  the 
other  townships  there  are  the  usual  complaints  that  farmers  do  not  work 
faitii fully  on  the  roads  and  that  the  w^ork  is  done  in  patches  ^yithoilJ; 
any  system.  And  yet  the  farmers  prefer  to  work  their  taxes,  although 
most  of  them  realize  that  roads  would  be  better  kept  under  a  system  of 
money  taxes,  centralized  supervision,  and  contract  work.  The  attitude  of 
a  majority  of  the  farmers  is  decidedly  against  the  new  Minnesota  legisla- 
tion providing  for  such  a  system.  Their  principal  objections  are  that  they 
prefer  to  pay  taxes  in  work  rather  than  in  money,  and  that  the  money  will 
be  spent  only  on  trunk  roads,  an  improvement  benefiting  principally  the  auto- 


l^"^ 

?5lt 

..»;■ 

1 

1         i/N'iAV^^ 

■ 

*c 

The  New  Steel  and  Concrete  Bridge  Supplants  the  Old  Wooden  One 


Xew  Type  of  Bridge  Being  Bnill  in  This  CUminnnity 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURREY  21 

niubilist.     Alany  farmers  were  found,  however,  who  favored  the  new  law. 

Horse  power  has  always  been  used  in  grading  until  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1913,  when  the  central  township  of  the  district  purchased  a  large 
and  efficient  grader  operated  by  a  tractor,  as  shown  in  the  illustration.  Or- 
dinarily, when  farmers  grade  a  road,  they  leave  it  in  so  bad  a  condition  that 
some  time  must  elapse  before  it  becomes  smooth  enough  for  comfortable 
travel. 

A  Good  Roads  Club,  formed  by  the  business  men  of  the  village,  has 
been  trying  to  arouse  interest  in  road  improvement,  and  has  furnished 
split-log  drags  for  the  farmers  to  use  on  the  roads.  Inasmuch  as  these 
bus iness  men  own  automobiles  they  have  not  been  able  to  arouse  much  en- 
thusiasm on  the  part  of  the  farmers.  It  was  through  the  efforts  of  this 
club  that  a  mile  of  road  just  outside  of  the  village  has  been  surfaced  with 
gravel.  It  was  hoped  that  this  would  serve  as  an  object  lesson  and  increase 
interest  in  road  improvement. 

Conspicuous  progress  is  being  made  in  the  building  of  modern  concrete 
and  steel  bridges  to  supplant  the  old  wooden  bridges  which  are  fast  wear- 
ing out.  The  accompanying  illustration  shows  one  of  these  new  bridges 
togetlier  with  the  old  wooden  bridge  which  is  to  be  supplanted  bv  it. 

Credit  and  Banking 

Since  1890  there  have  been  two  banks  in  the  village,  one  state  and  the 
other  national.  The  owners  of  the  national  bank  control  a  chain  of 
ten  or  twelve  banks  in  Minnesota  and  North  Dakota.  The  total  deposits 
of  these  two  banks  in  1913  amounted  to  $735,000,  all  but  about  $50,000  of 
which  belonged  to  people  within  the  county.  The  National  Bank  estimated 
that  its  deposits  came  from  the  following  sources : 

Amount  Per  Cent  of  Total 

Farmers  $282,000  65 

Residents  of  village 108,000  25 

People  outside  of  community 43,000  10 


Total    $433,000  100 

The  total  deposits  belonging  to  farmers  in  the  two  banks  are  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  $475,000,  but  this  amount  represents  the  deposits  of  more  than 
the  201  farmers  covered  by  the  investigation. 

The  banks  pay  5  per  cent  interest  on  twelve-month  deposits,  4  per 
cent  on  six-month  deposits,  and  no  interest  at  all  on  demand  deposits. 
Of  the  $735,000  deposits  in  the  two  banks,  $171,000,  or  23.3  per  cent,  are 
demand  deposits  receiving  no  interest.  The  Jarmers  use  clieck';  instead  of 
cash  in  their  ordinary  business  transactions  to  a  much  greater  extent  than 


22  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

they  did  even  live  years  ago.  The  Xational  Bank  fonnd  as  the  result  of 
a  careful  estimate  that  the  numher  of  checking  accounts  of  farmers  had 
increased  from  about  100  in  1907  to  316  in  1913. 

The  following  table  shows  loans  and  discounts  and  the  deposits  in  the 
State  Bank  on  August  first  of  each  year  since  1900: 

Year  Loans  and  Discounts  Deposits 

1900 $136,343  $135,564 

1901 170,788  170,882 

1902 205,836  215,865 

1903 ^.^ 215,799  2j06,939 

1904 ." 226,944  "230,7"99' 

1905 186,191  173,512 

1906 183,049  181,561 

1907 197,622  204,168 

1908 198,859  206,523 

1909 221,082  246,501 

1910 235,005  264,560 

1911 238,486  263,015 

1912 285,210  291,880 

1913 283,923  302,526 

The  banks  have  greater  funds  than  they  can  loan  locally  (at  least  at 
the  prevailing  rates),  and  hence  have  to  buy  commercial  paper.  About 
30  per  cent  of  the  funds  of  the  two  banks  is  loaned  in  this  way.  The 
State  Bank  estimates  that  about  $120,000,  or  41  per  cent  of  its  total  loans, 
are  to  farmers,  and  half  as  much  to  residents  of  the  village.  The  rate 
of  interest  received  on  commercial  paper  durinig  l')13  was  about  6  pgr 
cent — a  little  higher  than  ordinary.  Long-time  loans  are  made  direct  on 
real  estate  security  by  the  State  Bank.  The  National  Bank  lends  large 
amounts  of  money  on  real  estate  as  the  agent  of  eastern  investors.  The 
eastern  investor  receives  5  or  ?\  per  cent  and  the  local  bank  1  per  cent 
per  year  as  a  commission. 

The  rate  of  long-time  loans  is.  6  or  6^  percent.  Such  loans  run  ordi- 
narily for  five  years,  but  they  are  commonly  renewed.  Some  are  made  for 
ten  years.  In  most  of  the  real  estate  loans  no  provision  is  made  for  install- 
ment payments  before  the  loan  falls  due ;  in  some  cases  provision  is  made 
that  the  borrower  may  repay  $100  or  a  multiple  thereof  at  any  interest 
date.  Complete  data  were  not  secured  as  to  the  number  of  farms  mort- 
gaged, but  the  1910  census  showed  that  j7  per  cent  of  farnis  in  the  whole 
county  were  mortgaged,  and  this  proportion  undoul)tedly  indicates  rather 
closely  the  condition  in  the. part  of  the  county  investigated.  The  great 
majority  of  real  estatcJoaJis^are  bor^rmved  for  the  purpose  of  paying  for  land, 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  23 

both  by  new  settlers  and  by  old  settlers  who  are  acquiring  additional  acre- 
age. 

The  rate  on  short-time  loans  is  either  8  or  10  per  cent,  the  amount 
depending  on  the  financial  standnig  ot  the  borrower,  on  the  desirability  of 
procuring  the  banking  business  of  the  borrower,  and  on  the  extent  to  which 
there  is  competition  between  the  two  banks  in  placing  the  loan.  The 
rate  charged  to  well-established  andj;eliable  farmers  is  usually  8  per  cent 
New  settlers  whose  financial  reputation  is  not  established  are  commonly 
charged  10  per  cent.  Short-itime  loans  are  generally  made  on  single-name 
paper.  Chattel  security  is  rec^uired  only  of  some  renters  and  new  settlers. 
The  rate  on  such  loans  is  usually  10  per  cent.  Very  few  questions  are 
asked  concernmg  the  use  to  which  l:)orrowed  money  is  to  be  put. 


y 


CHAPTER  11 

HOW  THE  FARMING  COMMUNITY  LIVES 

The  predominant  features  of  tliis  conmiunily  which  influence  the  stan- 
(hird  of  hving  and  the  degree  of  social  intercourse  are  the  hirge  size  of 
farms  and  hence  the  wide  distance  separating  neighbors,  the  dependence  on 
grain  crops,  the  jhif ting  of  the  population,  and  the  mixture  of  nationalities 
and  religions.  On  the  whole  the  farmhouses  of  this  particular  community 
are  not  as  attractive  or  as  well  equipped  with  comforts  as  are  those  in  the 
more  prosperous  communities  to  the  west  along  the  Red  River.  Many 
of  the  houses  are  very  small — oftentimes  not  in  keeping  with  the  barns — 
although  many  of  the  latter  are  also  small  and  not  well  cared  for. 

Farm  Labor 

The  labor  on  the  farm  is  heavy,  especially  during  the  summer  and 
fall,  and  requires  long  days  of  work.  The  average  number  of  hours  per 
day  spent  in  various  ways  is  shown  in  the  following  statement  for  sum- 
mer and  winter  separately : 


Average  Number  of  Hours  per  Day 


Chores 

In  fields  (or  outside  work,  in  winter) 

Eating 

Sleeping 

Recreation 


During  the  summer  the  average  number  of  hours  spent  on  chores  and  in  the 
fields  is  12.4  per  day.  After  allowing  1.5  hours  for  eating  and  7 .7  hours  for 
sleep,  this  leaves  1)ut  2.4  hours  for  recreation  per  day.     These  proportions 

Summer' 


c  Bores 

2.5 


in    /iQlds 


1.5 


s  leepin^ 

7.  7 


rec  reac- 
tion 


V/inter 


chores 

A.3 

in   ffolds 

Gad- 
/n^ 

/.7 

slee  pin^ 
9.0 

recrea^-bion 
4.9 

Average  Xutnl)er  of  Hours  per  Day  Spent  in  Xarious  Ways,  Summer  and  Winter 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


25 


of  course  vary  during  the  summer  months,  the  work  being  particularly 
heavy  in  the  spring  and  late  summer,  with  more  or  less  of  a  let-up  during: 
June  and  July,  since  only  a  few  farmers  have  cultivated  crops  which  need 
attention. 

The  hired-help  problem  is  a  serious  one ;  55  per  cent  of  the  farmers 
visited  reported  that  it  was  hard  to  find  help.  There  are  a  few  farmers, 
mainly  those  well  along  in  years,  who  have  reduced  the  number  of  dairy 
cows  during  recent  years,  because  they  could  not  do  all  the  work  them- 
selves, and  were  unable  to  hire  efficient  help.  The  wages  of  farm  labor 
have  increased  from  about  $20  per  month  a  few  years  ago  to  from  $30 
to  $35  at  present,  and  farmers  complain  that  those  who  hire  out  at  these 
wages  dislike  the  drudgery  and  long  hours  made  necessary  by  milking  and 
chores.  They  say  that  the  attitude  of  farm  laborers  has  changed  appreciably 
in  this  respect.  One  farmer,  who  reflected  the  opinion  of  many  others, 
said  that  the  shortage  of  farm  labor  is  due  to  the  fact  that  "there  are  too 
many  men  who  want  to  wear  white  shirts,  and  who  won't  put  on  overalls." 


One  of  the  Better  Farm  Homes  along  tlie  River 


Much  labor  is  hired  by  the  day  during  haying  and  harvesting  seasons.  The 
wages  during  the  former  period  are  only  about  $1.50  per  day,  while  during 
harvesting  they  run  up  to  $2.50. 

The  aggregate  amount  paid  out  by  103  farmers  for  hired  help  during 
1912  was  $18,908,  or  $183.57  per  farmer.  Thirty-seven  per  cent  of  all 
farmers  had  hired  day  help  an  average  of  43  days  per  farm  during  the  year  ; 
23  per  cent  of  the  farmers  had  had  month  help  an  average  of  seven  months 


'i'\  piciil  I'anii  Homes 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  27 

per  farm.  Only  two  farms  had  hired  help  hy  the  year.  The  fluetuating 
eharacter  of  the  work  complieates  the  help  prohlem.  Many  farmers  want 
hired  help  for  only  eight  months,  and  most  of  them  for  a  shorter  time. 
Cooperation  among  the  farmers  during  harvesting,  already  alluded  to,  is 
an  important  factor  in  minimizing  the  requirement  for  outside  help  at  that 
season. 

The  farmers'  wives  do  their  share  of  the  work.  In  26  per  cent  of  the 
families  the  women  work  in  the  fields  during  rush  seasons  ;  in  two  thirds 
of  the  families  they  help  milk  and  do  the  chores.  In  87.5  per  cent  of  all 
the  families  they  make  their  own  Initter.  Al^out  25  per  cent  had  hired 
girls  for  at  least  part  of  the  year,  hut  the  average  length  of  time  for  all 
families  reporting  was  only  89  days  during  the  year.  In  many  cases  girls 
were  hired  for  a  very  few  weeks  during  times  of  illness  or  confinement. 
There  were  only  eight  fanfilies  out  of  the  total  of  201  that  had  kept  hired 
girls  for  over  six  months.  The  wages  of  hired  girls  vary  from  $3.50  to 
$5.00  per  week.  The  lower  wage  is  for  young  girls.  The  average  paid  was 
$4.20  per  week.  On  82  per  cent  of  the  farms  women  work  in  the  garden, 
and  in  39  per  cent  they  receive  no  help  from  the  men,  although  in  many  in- 

Percentagc  of  Farms  where  Housewife 


Works   in   Garden       ^Z.    '. 


Helps  with  Milking 
and  Chores  67 


Helps  in  Fields 


ZO     'V'o 


stances  they  are  assisted  by  young  children.  There  were  but  eight  farms 
found  where  men  alone  took  care  of  the  garden.  Thirty-two  per  cent  of 
the  families  reported  that  they  hired  dressmakers  occasionally. 

Not  much  progress  has  been  made  in  adopting  devices  to  facilitate 
housework.  Fifty-seven  of  the  farms  visited  have  flowing  wells,  which 
are  a  great  comfort,  but  wdiich  are  too  likely  to  be  located  more  conveniently 
to  the  barn  than  to  the  house,  thus  necessitating  a  great  deal  of  carrying 
on  the  part  of  the  housewife.  Only  four  farms  w^ere  found  where  there 
was  drinking  water  in  the  house.     Seventy-one  per  cent  had  their  drinking 


28  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

water  within  eighty  feet  of  the  house.  Sixty-one  per  cent  used  washing 
machines,  and  eight  farms  were  found  where  the  washing  machine  was 
operated  by  a  gas  engine  or  motor.  Similar  power  was  used  to  run  cream 
separators  on  four  farms,  and  to  operate  pumps  on  nine  farms.  Eight 
farms  had  windmills. 

Four  farms  were  found  with  steam  or  hot-water  heating  plants,  and 
one  with  a  hot-air  furnace.  Sixty-nine  per  cent  had  coal  stoves ;  the  rest 
use  only  wood.  The  farms  located  along  the  two  streams  have  good  supplies 
of  timber.  Twenty-seven  per  cent  had  oil  stoves  for  use  in  summer.  There 
are  practically  no  summer  kitchens,  because  the  hot  season  is  comparatively 
short.     Three  farmhouses  were  found  that  had  bathrooms. 

In  the  majority  of  cases  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  appearance  of 
the  yard,  although  there  were  21  families  (10  per  cent  of  the  total)  that 
kept  the  front  yard  clipped  with  lawn  mowers.  About  25  per  cent  let  the 
farm  animals  keep  the  grass  clipped  around  the  house.  Seven  farmhouses 
had  screened  porches;  20  (10  per  cent  of  the  total)  had  hammocks  or 
frame  swings.  Only  2.5  per  cent  kept  ice.  Milk  and  cream  are  usually 
placed  in  running  water  and  the  flowing  wells  are  a  great  convenience  in 
this  way.  Just  two  thirds  of  the  farms  had  telephones,  and  88  per  cent 
had  rural  free  delivery,  although  many  of  this  88  per  cent  had  to  go  some 
distance  to  their  mail  boxes. 

What  Becomes  of  the  Young  People 

The  farm  families  run  fairly  large.  Out  of  the  201  visited  there  was 
one  with  14  children;  one  with  12;  5  with  11;  7  with  10;  10  with  9;  14 
with  8;  13  with  7;  16  with  6;  and  15  with  5.  The  average  was  5  per  family 
for  the  159  families  reporting  children.  There  were  44  families  with  a 
total  of  57  unmarried  daughters  over  18  living  at  home ;  20  families  reported 
33  unmarried  daughters  away  from  home.  In  all,  the  farmers  visited  had 
96  married  daughters,  of  whom  60  had  been  married  at  home  and  36  had 
been  married  after  leaving  home.  Of  the  33  unmarried  daughters  away 
from  home,  20  were  working  in  cities.  Their  occupations  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

Housework 8 

Stenographers 5 

Nurses    4 

Telephone  operator 1 

Waitress  in  restaurant 1 

Factory  hand   1 

Seven  daughters  were  reported  as  working  in  the  homes  of  other  families 
in  the  country.  Eleven  daughters  were  teaching  school ;  13  were  attending 
high  school ;  none  were  attending  college  or  normal  school. 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


29 


The  families  visited  reported  175  sons  over  18  years  of  age.     These 
175  sons  were  distributed  as  follows: 


Number 

Living  at  home 96 

Farming    31 

In  home  community 15 

Away  from  home 16 

Working  in  country 22 

Working  in  cities  and  towns 26 

Total    175 


Per  Cent  of  Total 

54.9 
17.7 


12.6 
14.8 


100.0 


Diagram  Showing  Distribution  of  Farmers'  Sons  over  Eighteen  Years  of  Age 

Of  40  married  sons,  19  had  been  married  in  the  home  community  and  21 
after  leaving  home.  The  occupations  of  the  26  sons  working  in  cities  and 
towns,  with  the  number  working  in  each  were  as  follows :  merchants,  4 ; 
saw  mill,  3  ;  stenographers  and  accountants,  2 ;  bank  clerks,  2  ;  carpenters,  2  ; 
electricians,  2 ;  railroad  laborers,  2 ;  unknown,  2 ;  and  one  each  of  the  fol- 
lowing: butcher,  butter-maker,  hotel-keeper,  ice  business,  janitor,  mail  car- 
rier, and  minister.  There  were  only  6  boys  in  all  the  families  visited  that 
were  attending  high  school,  4  who  were  at  college,  and  one  who  was  in 
normal  school. 

On  19  farms  there  were  found  boys  over  16  who  did  not  care  to  be 
farmers,  and  in  9  families  there  were  girls  who  did  not  care  for  farm  life. 
The  great  majority  of  the  young  people  who  were  still  on  the  farms,  how- 
ever, had  no  desire  to  leave  the  farm.  This  was  also  true  of  the  parents, 
although  17  families  were  found  where  the  husband  believed  that  he  pre- 
ferred city  or  town  life,  and  19  families  where  the  wife  preferred  city  life. 
Probably  as  large  a  proportion  of  city  people  could  be  found  who  would 


30  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

claim  that  ihey  prefer  farm  life.  It  was  encouraging  to  hear  the  great 
majority  of  the  farmers  praise  farm  life  and  disclaim  any  desire  ever 
to  move  to  town. 

Social  Relations  and  Recreations 

Social  intercourse  among  farmers  on  the  whole  has  decreased  rather 
than  increased  during  the  past  few  years,  although  there  are  certain  sec- 
tions in  wdiich  this  is  not  true.  It  is  said  that  the  farmers  used  to  get 
together  "like  one  big  family"  in  the  early  days,  and  that  distances  between 
farms  did  not  seem  so  great.  The  reasons  assigned  by  one  farmer  for 
the  decrease  in  social  relations  w^ere  as  follows:  The  ^amiers  are  less  de- 
pendent on  each  othejr  than  f ornierly ;  new  people  have  moved  in  between 
the  old  settlers ;  since  the  gradual  development  of  mixed  farming,  farmers 
have  less  time  to  visit  their  neighbors ;  the  constant  coming  and  going  of 
renters  and  the  mixture  of  nationalities  and  religions,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  great  distances  in  a  region  of  such  large  farms,  and  the  severe  cold 
of  the  winter,  are  other  deterrent  influences.  An  intelligent  farmer  who 
had  recently  moved  in  from  Missouri  complained  of  the  lack  of  sociability 
among  the  farmers  of  this  section,  and  he  drew^  an  interesting  contrast  be- 
tween the  stern  countenances  and  serious  attitudes  of  these  farmers  and  the 
joviality  and  light-heartedness  of  the  people  m  his  section  of  the  country. 
He  said  that  the  greatest  need  was  more  social)ility.  Many  other  new  set- 
tlers had  similar  feelings. 

And  yet  there  are  certain  parts  of  the  region  covered  in  the  survey 
in  which  there  is  a  good  deal  of  social  life.  There  is  a  German  community 
northeast  of  Ada  which  has  frequent  card  parties  and  a  few  dances,  as 
well  as  other  parties  and  "get-togethers."  There  is  also  southeast  of  tow'U 
a  small  neighborhood  of  mixed  nationalities,  though  containing  several 
Americans,  who  congregate  at  each  other's  houses  during  the  winter  eve- 
nings to  a  great  extent ;  and  there  is  another  section  southwest  of  town 
where  the  farmers  have  more  or  less  social  life.  It  is  onlv  in  this  latter 
section  that  barn  dances  are  held  to  any  extent. 

Forty-six  per  cent  of  the  families  reported  that  they  ])laye(l  cards  for 
evening  recreation  and  2.^  ])er  cent  that  thev  were  absolutely  o|)])osed  to 
card-playing.  Members  of  41  per  cent  of  the  families  attend  dances,  ai 
least  occasionally.  There  are  a  few  informal  dances  held  in  the  farm 
houses.  Only  12  per  cent  of  the  families  had  daughters  who  attended  barn 
dances,  and  they  attended  on  an  average  of  only  about  five  times  a  year. 
Eight  per  cent  of  the  families  have  daughters  who  ever  attend  town  dances, 
and  most  of  these  attend  onlv  one  or  two  a  year.  Twelve  per  cent  of  the 
families  had  boys  who  went  to  town  dances  occasionall}-.  Twenty-seven 
j)e!-  cent  of  the  farmers  were  absolutely  opposed  to  dancing.  This  opposi- 
tion was  principallv  among  the  Norwegian  Tutherans.    The  ( lerman  Tuth- 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


31 


eran  preacher  in  the  German  settlement  northeast  of  town  is  opposed  to 
dancing,  but  has  no  scruples  against  card-playing  or  beer-drinking.  The 
people  of  his  community  indulge  in  all  three  forms  of  amusement. 

The  churches  are  the  most  important  influences  in  bringing  the  farm 
people  of  his  community  indulge  in  all  three  forms  of  anmsement. 
but  they  do  not  encourage  the  mingling  of  peo])le  of  dift'erent  nationalities. 
Services  are  held  only  once   or  twice  a  month   in  most  of  the  churches. 
In  59  per  cent  of  the  families  the  wife  is  a  church  member,  and  in  54  per 


A  Typical  Church 


cent  the  husljand  is.  Eighty-four  ])er  cent  of  the  wives  who  are  church  ' 
members  and  83  per  cent  of  the  husbands  reported  regular  attendance  at 
church.  There  were  174  families  out  of  the  201  visited  that  reported  at- 
tendance at  church,  and  the  average  number  of  services  attended  per  family 
was  one  and  a  half  per  month.  The  average  distance  to  the  church  attended 
was  Z.Z  miles.  It  is  perhaps  through  the  ladies'  aid  societies  that  the 
churches  have  their  most  important  social  influence.    The  housewives  in  40 


r> 


32 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


per  cent  of  the  families  are  members  of  such  societies,  and  they  each  at- 
tend on  the  average  about  eleven  meetings  a  year.  Twenty-three  per  cent 
of  the  families  had  children  in  Sunday  schools,  and  19  per  cent  in  young 
peoples'  societies. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  obtain  a  statistical  measure  of  the  amount 
of  informal  visiting  among  farmers.  Seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  families 
reported  that  they  visited  to  a  certain  extent  during  the  winter  evenings, 
and  it  appeared  that  they  averaged  perhaps  three  or  four  such  visits  a 
month  during  the  winter.  Eighty-five  per  cent  of  the  families  reported  that 
they  visited  other  farmers  on  Sundays  and  they  averaged  better  than  once 
a  month.  About  one  fourth  of  those  who  visit  apparently  confine  their 
visits  principally  to  relatives. 


1007o 


Local  weekly  paper        84% 
Agricultural  papers         767o 


City  daily  papers  43% 

Religious  papers  35% 

Cheap  magazines  34% 

(35  cents  per  year  or  less) 

First-class  magazines     22% 

Diagram  Showing  Percentage  of  Families  Reached  by  Various  Kinds  of  Reading 

Material 

Ninety-two  per  cent  of  the  families  report  that  they  do  more  or  less 
reading.  In  other  words,  there  were  found  16  families  out  of  201  that 
said  they  read  practically  none  at  all.  The  following  table  gives  an  idea 
of  the  kinds  of  papers  and  magazines  taken  regularly  by  farmers : 

Per  Cent       Average  Number 
of  Families  per  Family 

Local  weekly  paper 84  1 

Agricultural  papers   76  2 

City  daily  papers 43  1 

Religious  papers 35  1.5 

Cheap  magazines  i^Zb  cents  per  year  or  less)  ...  34  1.8 

First-class  magazines • 22  1.9 

In  addition  to  the  above,  about  half  the  families  took  weekly  papers  from 
other  communities,  either  where  they  had  previously  lived,  or  where  sons 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  33 

and  daughters  and  other  relatives  were  located.  Thirty-five  per  cent  of  the 
farmers  said  that  they  received  and  read  agricultural  bulletins  issued  either 
by  the  Federal  Government  or  by  the  State.  In  a  few  cases  only  the  chil- 
dren read  the  farm  papers  and  station  bulletins. 

Fifty-two  per  cent  of  the  farms  had  some  kind  of  music  in  the  house. 
The  musical  instruments  most  commonly  found  were  as  follows : 

Percentage  of  Homes 

Organ    ZZ 

Violin  26 

Phonograph    24 

Piano    6 

The  country  people  do  not  mingle  socially  with  the  village  people  to 
any  extent.  Farmers  feel  that  the  village..people  are  "snobbish" ;  many  ex- 
pressed this  thought  by  saying,  "We  are  not  good  enough  for  them." 
Farmers  attend  very  few  entertainments  in  the  village.  Members  of  48 
per  cent  of  the  families  had  attended  moving  picture  shows  during  the  pre- 
vious year,  but  such  attendance  had  been  very  infrequent  except  in  the  case 
of  a  few  families  living  near  town.  In  14  per  cent  of  the  families  par- 
ents had  attended  one  or  more  shows  or  theatrical  performances,  and  in 
20  per  cent  the  young  people  of  the  family  had  attended  such  performances. 
Nineteen  per  cent  had  been  represented  at  band  concerts,  and  9  per  cent 
at  other  musical  concerts.  The  number  of  shows  and  concerts  in  the  vil- 
lage is  extremely  limited,  however,  and  the  Lyceum  Course  ofters  about 
the  only  desirable  attraction.  A  farmers'  short  course,  held  in  the  village, 
had  been  attended  by  55  per  cent  of  the  farmers. 

The  farm  people  seldom  leave  the  community  to  visit  cities  or  other 
localities ;  there  are  no  large  cities  near  enough  to  make  such  trips  pos- 
sible or  worth  while.  Occasionally  they  go  to  Fargo  or  Crookston.  Only 
sixteen  farmers  were  found  who  had  ever  attended  the  State  Fair  at  the 
Twin  Cities,  and  in  seventeen  cases  young  people  of  the  family  had  attended 
the  Fair.  The  State  Fair  has  always  come  too  early  in  September  for  the 
farmers  of  northern  Minnesota.  The  local  county  fair  is  always  held  in 
the  village  about  the  first  of  October,  and  the  farmers  attend  this  in  large 
numbers. 

The  ^erage  distance  to  town  from  the  farms  visited  is  5.1  miles. 
Eight  miles  is  about  the  greatest  distance  that  farmers  have  to  travel  to 
market  in  this  region.  The  average  number  of  trips  to  town  was  6.3  per 
month  per  family.  This  of  course  varies  with  nearness  to  town  and  wdth 
different  seasons  of  the  year.  The  regular  trips  of  those  who  haul  cream 
to  the  creamery  raise  the  average.  The  proportions  of  all  farmers  having 
different  kinds  of  vehicles  appear  in  the  following  table: 


L.  D.  H.  J  VELD 


Per  Cent 
of  All  Fanners 


Wide-tired  wagon 84 

Single  buggy 77 

Double-seated  buggy 34 

Surrey 21 

Automobile    6 

Tbere  were  twelve  farmers  found,  or  6  per  cent  of  tlic  lotal.  wlio  owned 
automobiles.  Most  of  the  farmers  used  work  horses  for  driving,  although 
16  per  cent  kept  special  driving  teams. 

Farmers^  Economic  Organizations 

The  organizations  that  the  fanners  of  this  section  are  interested  in  are 
the  creameries,  an  insurance  company,  telephone  companies,  farmers'  ele- 
vator, and  Farmers'  Club.  The  extent  to  which  the  201  farmers  visited 
belong  to  these  organizations  appears  in  the  following  statement: 

Per  Cent 

Creameries    27 

Insurance    32 

Telephone  19 

Elevator 10 

Farmers'  Club 23 

The  principal  creamery  is  at  Ada.  (See  chapter  on  Marketing  of  Farm 
Products.)  There  is  also  a  creamery  northeast  of  the  town  on  the  very 
edge  of  the  section  covered  by  the  survey ;  and  also  one  five  mile-:  south- 
east of  Ada  which  is  no  longer  operating.  The  Ada  creamery  is  a  small 
one,  and  it  will  appear  in  the  chapter  on  Marketing  that  a  surprisingly  small 
proportion  of  the  cream  produced  is  hauled  there.  There  is  a  highly  suc- 
cessful mutual  insurance  company  which  covers  this  territory,  and  there  are 
three  cooperative  telephone  lines.  The  "Farmers'  Elevator"  does  not  really 
belong  to  the  farmers,  although  there  are  still  a  few  who  hold  stock  in  it. 
(See  chapter  on  Marketing.)  Cooperation  has  not  ])rogressed  very  far, 
although  there  were  only  six  farmers  who  said  the\'  had  no  faith  in  coop- 
eration. 

With  regard  to  insurance,  practically  half  of  the  farms  are  insured 
against  fire,  with  an  average  of  $2,137  i)er  farm.  Only  15  per  cent  of  the 
farmers  carry  life  insurance,  with  an  average  of  $3,708  apiece.^  There 
is  opposition  to  life  insurance  especially  on  the  part  of  the  Norwegian  Luth- 
erans.    It  was  said  that  a  country  jiastor  had  recently  refused  to  officiate 

'  Of  the  few  who  carry  life  insurance,  llurc  were  only  two  who  had  over  $3,000.  One  of 
these    had    $9,000,    a   fact   which    accounts    for    tin-   high  average. 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  35 

at  the  funeral  of  one  of  his  parishioners  because  it  was  found  that  he  had 
insurance  in  a  fraternal  order,  and  that  a  preacher  from  another  denom- 
ination had  to  be  called  from  the  village.  It  was  undoubtedly  the  member- 
ship in  a  fraternal  order  that  this  pastor  objected  to  principally,  because 
the  opposition  to  insurance  per  se,  although  still  noticeable,  is  gradually  dy- 
ing out.  Twenty-eight  families,  or  14  per  cent  of  all  visited,  had  members 
who  belonged  to  lodges,  but  there  were  only  nine  men  and  three  women 
who  actually  attended  lodge  meetings  in  the  village,  ^vlost  of  the  others 
were  members  merely  for  the  sake  of  carrying  insurance.  "" 

Shortly  before  the  survey  was  made,  a  Farmers'  Club  had  been  formed 
through  the  etlorts  of  the  instructor  in  agriculture  in  the  high  school.  Twen--' 
y-three  per  cent  of  the  farmers  visited  were  members  of  this  club,  and  the 
outlook  appeared  bright  for  a  successful  and  permanent  organization.  Meet- 
ings were  held  in  the  village,  and  a  well-attended  picnic  was  held  during 
the  summer.  At  this  picnic  the  farmers'  families  came  shortly  before  noon, 
had  their  lunch  immediately,  listened  to  a  few  speeches  and  some  music  by 
the  "juvenile"  Ijand  from  the  village,  and  then  dispersed.  Although  thor- 
oughly successful,  the  picnic  would  proljably  have  been  of  more  value  had 
the  farmers  had  the  disposition  and  taken  the  time  to  play  games  and 
do  more  general  visiting. 


CHAPTER  III 
MARKETING  OF  FARM  PRODUCTS 

The  following  table  shows  the  approximate  values  of  the  principal  farm 
products  marketed  at  or  through  Ada  in  1912: 


$0.78  $99,000 


Wheat  ■                                                                                         Amount  Average  Price  Total  Value 

Elevators   77.000  bu.     ' 

Flour  mil! 50,000  bu. 

Flax    20,000  bu.     '  1.23  24,600 

Rye    26,500  bu.  .47  12,450 

Barley    90,000  bu.  .35  31,500 

Oats   125,000  bu.  .25  31,250 

Live  stock 64,400 

Cream : 

Sold  to  creamery   177,000  lbs.  12,820 

Shipped    13,900  lbs.  1,000 

Butter  ( farm-made) 25,000  lbs.  5,000 

Poultry    6,000 

Eggs    .184  12,000 

Potatoes 4,000 

Flax  straw 2,625 

Miscellaneous  (hides,  wool,  vege- 
tables, bacon,  etc.) 5,000 


$311,645 


The  total  value  of  farm  products  marketed  at  Ada  was  a  little  over  $300,000 
in  1912,  most  of  which  was  shipped  to  outside  markets.  This  list  does  not 
include  products  consumed  on  the  farm.  Fairly  exact  figures  were  obtained 
for  some  products  in  the  table  above ;  for  others  estimates  are  given. 

The  Markrtixg  of  Grain 

Grains  constitute  over  two  thirds  of  the  marketed  crops ;  in  earlier  days 
the  proportion  was  of  course  larger.  The  problems  connected  with  grain- 
marketing  may  hence  be  deemed  the  most  important. 

As  railroads  were  built  through  the  wheat-growing  sections,  warehouse 
or  elevator  facilities  were  generally  provided  with  but  little  delay.  At  least 
as  early  as  1877  there  w^as  a  warehouse  at  Ada  for  grain  and  seeds.  By 
1880  large  quantities  of  grain  were  being  marketed  at  this  point.     In  1883 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


37 


the  local  paper  said  that  "Ada  is  already  the  leading  primary  wheat  mar- 
ket in  northern  Minnesota,  receiving  last  year  from  teams  over  400,000 
bushels  of  wheat."  This,  if  correct,  was  more  than  three  times  as  much 
wheat  as  was  marketed  in  1912. 

At  first,  the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific  Railroad,  passing  through  Ada,  tapped 
a  wide  territory.  Farmers  brought  their  grain  from  points  even  twenty 
and  thirty  miles  away — from  what  is  now  Mahnomen  County  on  the  east, 
and  from  points  in  Dakota  beyond  the  Red  River  on  the  west,  at  least 
during  the  winter  when  the  river  was  closed  for  navigation.  Early  settlers 
can  remember  the  long  processions  of  farmers'  wagons,  drawn  largely  by 
oxen  and  stretching  far  out  over  the  prairies,  bringing  wheat  to  the  Ada 
elevators,  where  they  would  often  have  to  wait  in  long  lines,  even  over 
night  sometimes,  in  order  to  unload. 


The  Grain  Elevators  of  the  Village 


In  spite  of  the  opening  of  the  railroad  along  the  Red  River  fourteen 
miles  west  of  Ada  in  1883,  thus  lopping  off  a  large  part  of  the  tributary 
territory,  the  shipments  of  wheat  continued  unabated,  and  were  estimated 
at  nearly  500,000  bushels  in  that  year,  ^^4thin  the  next  two  or  three  years 
a  number  of  circumstances  conspired  to  detract  from  the  importance  of 
Ada  as  a  shipping  point.  The  first  severe  flood  was  experienced  in  1885, 
destroying  a  large  part  of  the  crop.  In  1886  the  present  Northern  Pacific 
line  running  north  toward  Winnipeg  was  built  fourteen  miles  east  of  Ada, 
thus  cutting  off  another  large  slice  of  its  territory.  Finally,  the  price 
of  wheat,  which  had  been  very  high,  began  to  decline  about  1886,  and  the 
production  of  wheat  per  acre  also  began  to  fall  off.  An  item  in  the  local 
paper  stated  in  November,  1888,  that  the  Northwestern  Elevator  had  been 
closed  for  the  season. 


38 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


For  many  years  there  have  been  five  elevators  at  Ada,  many  more 
than  have  been  needed  to  handle  the  grain  brought  to  that  point.  During 
the  summer  of  1913,  while  this  survey  was  in  progress,  one  of  the  five 
was  torn  down,  and  the  materials  were  shipped  to  Montana  to  be  used  in 
the  erection  of  an  elevator  in  that  State  for  the  storage  and  handling  of 
grain.  Although  the  other  four  are  all  being  operated,  the  bulk  of  the 
business  each  year  usually  goes  to  two  or  possibly  three  of  them.  The 
operation  of  more  than  two  apparently  results  in  an  economic  waste. 

In  1889  a  meeting  of  farmers  was  held  in  the  courthouse  in  order  to 
organize  the  Xorman  County''iilevator  anlTStara^e^CoiiTpan)',  for  the  build- 
ing and  operatingol  two^elevators,  one  at  Ada,  an^  the  other  at  Twin 
\'alley  on  the  Northern  Pacific,  fourteen  miles  to  the  east.  The  capital  was:. 
$10,000,  with  sliares  of  S5  each,  and  no  person  was  to  hold  more  than  five 


This  Elevatcr  Is   Bciny   Demolished;  the  Lumljcr   Gties  ii 
Reerected  as  a  Grain  Elevator 


-Montana  to  be 


shares.  It  was  further  stipulated  that  the  shares  should  not  be  held  or 
controlled  by  combinations  of  persons  or  companies.  This  was  the  first 
cooperative  efifort  of  importance  among  the  farmers  around  Ada. 

The  Farmers'  Elevator  was  built  and  put  in  operation  in  1890.  The 
company  made  a  slight  profit  the  first  year,  but  jealousies  and  dissatisfac- 
tion appeared  among  the  farmers.  The  second  year  of  operation  was  char- 
acterized by  poor  management  and  meddling  on  the  part  of  farmer  mem- 
bers. It  is  said  that  the  manager  bought  damaged  wheat  as  No.  1  North- 
ern, and  that  this  wheat  graded  only  No.  3  in  IMinncapolis.  As  a  result, 
the  elevator  was  run  at  a  loss.  It  was  then  rented  ;  there  had  been  two 
assessments,  the  farmers  were  disgusted  with  the  whole  afl'air,  and  got  rid 
of  their  stock.     One  farmer  member  is  said  to  have  sold  his  share  for  a 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


39 


keg  of  beer.  The  stock  gradually  got  into  the  hands  of  business  men  in 
the  town ;  one  able  man  in  particular  became  interested  in  it  and  has  super- 
vised its  operations  successfully  since  about  1895.  Tlu'ough  able  and  con- 
servative management  it  has  been  kept  in  operation,  and  to-day  gets  more 
of  the  farmers'  grain  than  any  other.  In  fact,  an  addition  has  recently 
been  built.  Although  still  called  the  Farmers'  Elevator,  it  does  not  be- 
long to  the  farmers,  and  it  is  run  as  a  joint-stock  company.  This  experi- 
ence is  typical  of  many  so-called  farmers'  elevators  in  Minnesota.  And 
yet  the  business  men  can  not  be  blamed  for  stepping  in  when  the  farmers 
have  failed  to  make  a  success  of  it.  The  farmers  are  now  considering  the 
purchase  of  an  elevator  to  be  run  cooperatively.  They  are  better  fitted  i 
to  manage  such  a  concern  now  than  they  were  twenty  years  ago. 


vujr^ 


The  Flour  Mill  Furnishes  an  Important  Market  for  Wheat 


"J'he  local  roller  mill  is  an  important  factor  in  the  marketing  of  wheat. 
C)i  the  1912  crop  it  took  more  than  one  third  of  that  marketed  at  Ada. 
In  some  years  the  mill  takes  a  larger  proportion.  During  the  short-crop 
year  of  1910,  there  were  only  two  of  the  five  elevators  running,  and  the 
mill,  besides  buying  direct  from  farmers,  took  all  the  wheat  of  the  Farmers' 
Elevator  and  a  large  part  of  that  of  the  other  elevator.  Probably  more 
than  three  quarters  of  the  wheat  brought  to  Ada  that  year  was  purchased 
by  the  flour  mill. 

The  flour  mill  pays  farmers  two  cents  a  bushel  over  the  current  mar- 
ket price.  The  reasons  assigned  by  the  secretary  for  this  practice  are:  first, 
to  get  the  best  wheat ;  second,  to  induce  farmers  to  go  to  the  trouble  of 
hauling  to  the  mill  where  they  often  have  to  wait  their  turns ;  and,  third, 
to  get  farmers  to  buy  flour  at  the  mill.     The  mill  exchanges  flour  for  wheat 


I 


40  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

in  the  proportion  of  a  sack  of  flour  (ninety-eight  pounds)  for  three  hushels 
of  wheat.  This  is  cheaper  for  farmers  than  buying  flour  at  the  stores.  The 
mill  officials  think  that  the  mill  furnishes  the  farmers  around  x^da  with  five 
sixths  of  their  flour.  On  account  of  this  exchange  privilege,  and  the  premium 
offered,  farmers  outside  of  the  natural  trade  territory  of  Ada  bring  their 
wheat  to  the  mill,  many  coming  a  considerable  distance. 

The  price  of  wheat  in  Ada  is  between  ten  and  eleven  cents  below  the 
Minneapolis  price.    The  difl'erence  is  made  up  approximately  as  follows : 

Per  Bushel 

Freight  rate  ( 1 1  cents  per  100  lbs.) $0,066 

Commission .01 

Weighing,  switching,  etc .005 

Margin  allowed  to  cover  local  expenses .02 


$0,101 

Marketing  of  Live  Stock 

There  are  two  markets  for  stock :  first,  the  local  market,  represented 
by  butchers  in  the  town  who  slaughter  for  local  consumption ;  and,  second, 
individual  cattle-buyers  who  purchase  for  shipment  to  outside  markets.  The 
relative  importance  of  these  two  markets  is  illustrated  by  the  following  ap- 
proximate figures  for  1912: 

Value  of  stock  sold  : 

For  local  slaughter , $14,440 

For  shipment 50,000 

Total   $64,400 

During  most  of  the  year  1912  there  were  two  butcher  shops  in  Ada. 
On  August  first,  one  shop  bought  out  the  other,  but  one  of  the  members 
of  the  buying  firm  continued  to  run  a  second  shop  during  the  heavy  busi- 
ness of  the  fall.     Since  December  1,  1912,  there  has  been  but  one  shop. 

The  following  table  shows  the  approximate  number  of  head,  and 
value  of  cattle,  calves,  sheep,  and  hogs  bought  by  the  local  ])utchers  during 
the  year  1912. 

.Average 
Number  \'alue  Value  per  Head 

Cattle   225  $7,650  $34.00 

Calves   65  470  7.23 

Hogs   342  5,950  17.40 

Sheep   64  351  5.48 

Total    696  $14,421  


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURl'EY  41 

The  weights  of  animals  purchased  by  the  butchers  for  local  slaughter 
were  not  ascertainable.  The  average  values  per  head,  however,  indicate  that 
the  stock  was  pretty  "scrawny."  This  is  brought  out  more  clearly  below 
in  the  figures  referring  to  shipments  of  stock  to  other  markets.  The  pur- 
chases of  animals  from  farmers  do  not  represent  the  total  amount  of  meat 
sold  by  the  local  butchers,  however,  because  they  also  bought  considerable 
quantities — principally  beef — from  the  packing  houses.  The  local  consump- 
tion of  meat  products  by  months  (aside  from  that  killed  on  the  farm)  is 
of  interest.  The  following  table  gives  the  amounts  paid  farmers  by  local 
butchers  for  live  animals  and  the  amounts  paid  packers  for  dressed  meat.-;. 

Paid  to  Farmers  Paid  to  Packers 

for  Animals  for  Dressed  Meats 

January    $713.00  $  65.45 

February    474.00  115.72 

March   1,045.00  198.43 

April    1,113.00  213.88 

May    1,328.00  314.54 

June    1,098.00  400.00 

July   1,093.00  350.00 

August 1,542.00  400.00 

September    1,752.00  600.00 

October 2,146.00  600.00 

November 1,326.00  400.00 

December    791.00  156.87 


Total   $14,421.00  $3,814.89 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  table  that  the  butcher  shops  handled  the  smallest 
amount  of  ineat  during  the  winter  months.  This  was  due  partly  to  the 
fact  that  farmers  can  best  keep  their  own  fresh  meat  supply  at  that  time 
of  the  year,  and  to  the  smaller  number  of  transient  laborers  on  farms  and 
in  the  village  industries. 

As  for  the  shipments  of  live  stock  to  outside  points,  there  were  45 
mixed  carloads  sent  to  market  during  the  year  1912.  Judging  from  de- 
tailed figures  on  a  few  of  these  carloads,  the  average  value  per  car  was 
about  $1,100,  or  a  total  of  approximately  $50,000. 

The  carload  shipments  were  distributed  throughout  the  year  as  follows : 

Carloads 

January  

February  2 

March   5 

April    , 


42 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


Mc 


Carloads 

6 
1 


July    3 

August   4 

September 5 

October 7 

November 12 

December    


Total    45 

During  1912  tbere  were  no  less  than  five  differejit  buyers  scouring  the 
country  to  buy  stock  for  shipment.  They  go  about  from  farm  to  farm 
with  horse  and  carriage  (one  was  using  an  automobile  in  1913)  and  make  of- 
fers to  the  farmers  for  their  stock.     South   St.   Paul  j^iriccs  are  used  as  a 


Apr.  rie^y  June  Ju[y  A\j^.  Sept  Get  Kov.  Dec. 


Carload  Sliipmcnt.s  of  Live  Stock  b}-  Alonths,  1912 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURCEY  43 

basis  for  local  prices,  but  it  is  bard  to  say  just  vvbat  margins  tlie  local 
buyers  allow  under  tbe  market.  Tbe  cost  of  getting  live  stock  to  market 
in  South  St.  Paul  averages  32.4  cents  per  hundred  pounds,  20  cents  of 
which  represents  freight  and  5.7  cents  commission.  Add  to  this  32.4  cents 
enough  to  pay  the  buyer  for  the  use  of  a  horse  and  carriage  and  to  give 
him  a  living,  and  it  is  likely  that  the  farmers  get  between  50  cents  and  $1 
under  the  South  St.  Paul  market.  Some  farmers  know  better  than  others 
what  their  stock  is  worth  and  consequently  get  better  prices.  Others  are 
itempted  by  offers  of  round  sums  for  a  number  of  head  together  with  little 
M-eference  either  to  current  market  price  or  to  weight  of  animals. 

If  the  farmers  had  their  own  shipping  association,  it  would  cost  them 
only  the  32  cents  that  it  now  costs,  plus  6  or  8  cents  per  hundred  pounds 
for  the  manager.  They  would  probably  save  an  average  of  40  or  50  cents 
per  hundred  pounds,  or  from  $4  to  $5  on  a  1,000-pound  steer.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  the  Farmers  Club  organized  a  stock-shipping  association  in 
the  spring  of  1913,  but  no  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  ship  cooperatively. 
The  average  weights  of  animals  sent  to  South  St.  Paul  in  9  of  the 
45  carloads  shipped  were  as  follows : 

Pounds 

Cattle : 717 

Hogs 226 

Calves    224 

Sheep   107 

Marketing  Cream  and  Butter  -^^yvA^ 

Owing  to  specialized  grain-farming,  dairying  has  never  occupied  an  im- 
portant place  in  farming  in  this  community.  Early  in  the  eighties  there 
were  but  few  cattle.  The  slump  in  wheat  prices  along  about  1886  gave 
a  slight  impetus  to  mixed  farming  and  to  dairying,  and  the  number  of 
cattle  increased  rapidly.  County  records  show  that  the  number  of  head  of 
stock  of  all  kinds  in  the  county  increased  from  8,000  in  1882  to  over  19,000 
in  1887.  The  United  States  census  figures  for  cattle  alone  in  Norman 
County  are  as  follows : 

Total  Head  of  Cattle  Dairy  Cows 

1890 17,625       7,208 

1900 21,708       8,972 

1910 26,217       11,894- 

The  number  of  dairy  cows  increased  from  7,208  in  1890  to  only  11,894  in 
1910,  indicating  tliat  the  dairy  industry  has  not  been  making  very  ra])iil 
progress  during  the  past  twenty  years. 

During  the   eighties   all   butter   was   made   on    the   farm   and    the  sur- 


\^ 


44  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

plus  over  that  consumed  by  the  fanner's  family  was  traded  at  the  store. 
As  this  surplus  exceeded  local  requirements,  and  as  it  was  of  very  poor 
quality,  the  price  of  butter  was  extremely  low,  being  worth  in  trade  only 
8  or  10  cents  a  pound.  In  1887  one  of  the  local  papers  began  to  agitate 
the  building  of  a  creamery.  The  advantages  to  farmers  of  obtaining  cash 
for  cream,  and  of  saving  the  time  and  trouble  of  butter-making  were  set 
forth.  It  was  said  that  nine  tenths  of  the  farmers  did  not  know  how  to 
make  decent  butter  and  that  merchants  traded  it  in  simply  for  fear  of  of- 
fending and  losing  country  customers,  and  it  was  further  affirmed  that 
much  that  was  traded  in  had  to  be  sold  to  soap-makers  for  from  1^  to  3 
cents  per  pound. 

Finally  in  1888  a  creamery  association  was  formed,  principally  among 
the  business  men  in  town.  It  was  not  a  cooperative  association.  An  outside 
promoter  apparently  had  much  to  do  in  starting  the  movement.  At  any 
rate  capital  was  subscribed  and  an  excellent  building  constructed ;  in  fact, 
it  was  a  larger  and  more  expensive  building  than  that  occupied  by  the  co- 
operative creamery  association  which  is  operating  successfully  to-day.  The 
company  opened  for  business  in  Jime,  1888,  and  sent  out  wagons  to  collect 
cream  over  seven  different  routes. 

This  creamery  was  operated  for  two  years  at  a  loss.  The  local  paper 
reports  that  it  made  57,679  pounds  of  butter  in  1889,  which  was  2,000  pounds 
more  than  was  manufactured  in  the  present  cooperative  creamery  in  1912! 
But  tb.e  plant  was  too  large  and  expensive  to  be  run  economically;  the  col- 
lection of  cream  over  a  wide  area  was  an  expensive  process ;  the  whole 
scale  of  operations  was  on  too  grand  a  scale  for  the  volume  of  business.  It 
apparently  had  the  eft'ect  of  raising  the  local  price  of  butter.  One  of  the 
leading  stores  advertised  in  November,  1889,  that  it  would  pay  15  cents  a 
pound  for  "fresh  roll  and  print  butter"  and  12^  cents  for  "packed  butter." 
The  offering  of  high  prices  by  local  merchants  was  assigned  as  one  reason 
for  the  company's  failure.  In  1890  the  building  was  leased  to  a  local  mer- 
chant who  attempted  for  a  time  to  run  it  as  a  butter  factory,  and  in  1894  it 
was  bought  by  another  merchant  to  use  as  a  warehouse  in  connection  with 
his  business.    It  has  been  used  for  this  purpose  ever  since. 

In  1896  a  group  of  farmers  east  of  the  village  organized  the  Town 
Line  Creamery  Association  on  the  cooperative  plan  and  built  a  creamery 
about  five  miles  from  Ada  on  the  boundary  line  between  McDonaldsville 
and  Lake  Ida  townships.  This  company  ran  during  the  summers  (and  for 
two  years  during  the  winter  also)  until  1911,  when  it  was  shut  down.  The 
reason  assigned  for  closing  was  that  there  were  not  enough  cows ;  that  as 
old  settlers  had  sold  out,  new  farmers  came  in  who  had  but  little  stock. 
The  creamery  that  was  built  in  Ada  in  1903  undoubtedly  cut  into  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Town  Line  Creamery  to  a  slight  extent.  The  Town  Line  Cream- 
ery was  not  very  well  located  anyway.     A  short  distance  to  the  east  and 


COMML'XJTY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  45 

southeast  there  is  much  unbroken  prairie,  thus  cutting  down  the  possible 
territory  to  draw  from.  Although  the  members  of  this  association  hope  to 
start  up  again  before  long,  the  logical  place  for  a  creamery  in  this  community 
appears  to  be  in  the  village  itself. 

The  present  successful  cooperative  creamery  w-as  organized  in  1903  by 
the  farmers  with  the  help  of  certain  progressive  business  men  in  town.  The 
latter  perhaps  thought  that  by  bringing  the  farmers  to  town  more  regularly 
and  by  increasing  their  money  income  through  a  creamery,  they  would  get 
more  business  at  their  stores.  The  paid-up  capital  stock  amounts  to  $2,900 ; 
shares  are  $10  apiece ;  there  are  55  shareholders ;  each  member  has  but  one 
vote.  Five  per  cent  dividends  have  been  paid  on  capital  stock  in  some  years ; 
other  years  none  at  all  have  been  paid.  The  company  first  cleared  itself  of 
indebtedness  in  1912. 

The  by-laws  do  not  provide  for  a  patronage  dividend,  but  officers  of 
the  company  say  that  it  is  their  intention  to  distribute  profits  in  this  way  if 
they  ever  should  exceed  a  fair  return  on  capital.  No  attempt  is  made, 
however,  to  earn  such  profits,  because  the  highest  possible  price  is  paid  to 
farmers  for  butter  fat  from  month  to  month.  There  is  no  provision  in  the 
by-laws  for  a  sinking  fund,  but  a  working  balance  for  repairs  and  contin- 
gent expenses  is  maintained  from  year  to  year. 

Farmers  use  hand  separators  and  haul  their  cream  to  the  creamery. 
Some  of  the  principal  creamery  statistics  for  the  year  ended  December  1, 
1912  were  as  follows: 

Pounds  of  cream  received 177,038 

Average  test  (per  cent) 26.1 

Pounds  of  butter  fat 46,257.78 

Pounds  of  butter  made 55,384.25 

Per  cent  over-run 19.7 

Average  price  paid  for  butter  fat  (cents)  .  .  .  26.7 

Total  paid  patrons  for  butter  fat $12,820.52 

Butter-maker's  salary  per  month $65.00 

On  the  wdiole  the  farmers  seem  well  satisfied  wdth  their  creamery, 
and  yet  a  good  deal  of  cream  is  shipped  to  centralizers.  Those  who  ship 
claim  that  they  get  a  better  test  for  their  cream  in  this  way.  During  1912 
there  were  1,658  gallons  sent  away  by  express,  valued  at  about  $1,000,  or 
one  twelfth  as  much  as  was  taken  to  the  creamery.  About  fourteen  dif- 
ferent farmers  shipped  at  one  time  or  another  during  the  year,  most  of  their 
cream  going  to  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  and  some  to  Alexandria,  Minne- 
sota. During  1913,  after  the  passage  of  the  law  prohibiting  the  shipment 
of  cream  more  than  sixty-five  miles  unless  pasteurized  or  in  refrigerator 
cars,  this  cream  began  to  go  to  Fargo  and  Crookston. 


k 


46  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

The  shipments  of  cream  from  Ada  by  months  during  1912  were  as 
follows : 

Gallons 

January  136 

February    84 

March 32 

April 68 

May    140 

June    252 

July 318 

August   126 

September    104 

October    158 

November 1 56 

December 84 

Total    1,658 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  feature  of  butter-marketing  in  this  com- 
munity is  the  persistence  of  the  primitive  practice  of  making  butter  on  the 
farm,  and  of  taking  it  to  the  store  to  trade  for  supplies.  There  are  some 
farmers  who  do  not  keep  enough  cows  to  make  it  worth  while  to  haul  cream 
to  town,  and  they  naturally  make  their  own  butter.  But  88  per  cent  of  all 
farmers  visited  make  their  own  butter,  and  included  in  this  number  are  the 
majority  of  the  creamery  patrons.  The  creamery  reported  only  $207.21 
worth  of  "butter  and  supplies"  sold  to  patrons  in  1912.  And  these  patrons 
not  only  make  butter  for  themselves  but  some  of  them  often  make  a  sur- 
])lus  to  take  to  the  stores  in  town. 

The  amount  of  butter  traded  at  the  stores  could  not  be  ascertained 
exactly,  but  it  may  safely  be  estimated  at  about  25,000  pounds  per  year, 
worth  approximately  $5,000.  The  people  of  the  town  subsist  almost  en- ' 
tirely  on  country  butter,  and  it  is  known  that  the  stores  have  a  surplus  over 
the  town's  requirements  of  more  than  5,000  pounds  per  year,  worth  about 
$1,000,  which  is  shipped  out  to  centralizers  as  "packing  stock"  to  be  "reno- 
vated" and  sold  to  city  consumers.  Most  of  the  merchants  ship  this  butter 
fairly  often  as  it  accumulates ;  one  merchant  lets  it  accumulate  in  his  base- 
ment for  several  weeks,  or  even  months,  at  a  time,  shipping  out  a  large 
quantity  two  or  three  times  a  year. 

The  following  table  shows  the  shipments  of  "packing  stock"  from  this 
community  by  months  for  1913: 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  47 

N'alue  per 
Month  Pounds  \'alue  Pound  (Cents) 

January   

February    90  $18.90  21.0 

March    

April    226  50.35  22.3 

May  530  102.32  19.3 

June 2,090  384.43  18.4 

July    834  158.46  19.0 

August    554  100.25  18.1 

September 138  26.90  19.5 

October 301  63.21  21.0 

November 490  110.30  22.5 

December    ... 

Total    5,253        $1,015.12  19.3 

Most  of  this  country  butter  is  very  inferior  in  quality.  Some  farmers, 
however,  make  a  good  quality,  as  for  instance  the  one  who  supplies  the  lead- 
ing hotel  of  the  town.  The  merchants  are  not  enthusiastic  about  handling 
this  country  butter ;  the  one  who  handles  the  most  says  that  each  farmer 
thinks  his  butter  is  the  very  best,  and  that  he  can't  discriminate  between 
different  grades  for  fear  of  offending  his  customers  and  losing  their  trade. 
This  merchant  trades  in  eighty  or  ninety  pounds  a  day  sometimes  during 
the  height  of  the  season.  He  sells  most  of  it  locally,  some  even  to  farmers, 
and  has  standing  orders  of  about  forty  pounds  a  week  with  customers  in 
town.  He  sells  it  for  one  or  two  cents  over  what  he  allows  the  farmers. 
As  packing  stock  it  sells  for  a  cent  or  two  less  than  he  allows  farmers. 

Conclusion  on  Butter-  and  Cream-Marketing 

In  conclusion,  it  is  interesting  to  compare  the  quantities  of  butter  sold 
by  the  farmers  of  this  locality  in  the  three  different  ways  described  above. 

Pounds  Per  Cent 

of  Butter  of  Total 

Sold  as  product  of  creamery 55,384  65.4 

Shipped  in  form  of  cream 4,350  5.1 

Made  on  farm  and  traded  at  stores 25,000  29.5 

Total    84,734  100.0 

Of  the  total  butter  sold,  only  65.4  per  cent  goes  through  the  creamery.  If 
the  amount  of  butter  made  on  the  farm  and  consumed  on  the  farm  were 
known,  it  would  undoubtedly  show  that  less  than  half  of  the  cream  pro- 
duced in  the  community  is  taken  to  the  creamery.  On  butter  traded  at  the 
store  there  is  a  distinct  loss  to  the  farmer,  as  he  never  gets  more  than  20 


48 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


or  21  cents.  Jn  cmiiniunilies  where  dairying  has  advanced  further,  patrons 
buy  butter  from  their  creamery.  This  community  has  much  to  learn  in 
the  way  of  better  butter-marketing. 

On  the  northeast  edge  of  the  territory  covered  by  the  survey  there  is 
another  cooperative  creamery  which  does  about  as  much  business  as  the 
one  in  Ada  already  described.  A  few  of  the  farmers  visited  haul  their 
cream  to  this  creamery,  but  it  gets  the  great  bulk  of  its  patronage  from  out- 


cases 


22Ii 


g-so 


226 


gOQ 


LZ^. 


150 


]25 


JZ3 


.^>Q 


2^ 


'jQ.n   Feb.  TTar:  Apr.  Md^  June  July  Au^.  Sept  Get.  Nov.  Dec 


Shii)mcnts  of  Egg.s  from  Ada  during  1912 

side  the  district  surveyed.  It  is  located  about  half  way  between  the  two 
railroads  and  has  to  have  its  butter,  as  well  as  coal,  wood,  tubs,  and  other 
supplies,  hauled  about  seven  miles.  Farmers  do  the  hauling,  and  many 
have  been  allowed  to  pay  for  their  shares  in  this  way.  This  creamery 
also  handled  $1,100  worth  of  coal  for  its  members  in  1912. 

The  Marketing  of  Eggs 

To  dispose  of  their  eggs,  farmers  follow  the  time-honored  custom  of 
trading  them  at  the  store  for  groceries  and  other  supplies.    Very  little  atten- 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  49 

tion  is  paid  to  raising  hens,  but  some  farmers  trade  in  enough  eggs  to  pay 
their  grocery  bills.  Farmers  who  were  questioned  on  this  matter  are  ap- 
parently well  satisfied  with  present  methods ;  very  few  had  even  considered 
the  possibility  or  desirability  of  a  cash  market.  When  they  bring  in  more 
eggs  than  they  care  to  exchange  for  goods  at  the  time,  they  are  given  checks 
or  "tin  money"  which  represents  future  purchasing  power.  Very  com- 
monly, however,  the  farmer  adjusts  his  purchases  to  the  amount  of  trade 
he  has  coming  to  him  for  his  eggs  and  butter  rather  than  to  his  actual  needs. 
Under  the  present  system  one  tgg  is  as  good  as  another ;  there  is  no  induce- 
ment to  the  farmer  to  gather  them  regularly ;  small  eggs  are  worth  in  trade 
as  much  as  large  eggs ;  they  are  not  graded  as  to  color. 

The  storekeepers  sell  what  they  can  locally  and  ship  their  surplus  to 
outside  markets ;  they  turn  them  over  to  one  man,  who  handles  both  their 
eggs  and  their  butter.  This  man  buys  the  eggs  outright  from  the  mer- 
chants ;  he  pays  according  to  market  prices ;  what  he  pays  the  merchants 
one  week,  the  merchants  pay  the  farmers  for  eggs  during  the  following 
week.  By  consolidating  shipments  he  says  he  receives  better  prices.  He 
began  handling  eggs  in  this  way  in  1906,  and  the  method  is  apparently  satis- 
factory to  the  merchants,  and  indeed  does  seem  to  be  an  efficient  way  of 
handling  them.  He  says  that  he  gets  5  cents  a  case  on  shipments  to  the 
Twin  Cities,  and  10  cents  to  Duluth.  Most  of  his  eggs  go  to  the  latter 
city.  He  is  engaged  regularly  in  other  business  and  handles  the  eggs  and 
butter  of  the  merchants  as  a  side  line. 

Most  of  the  eggs  shipped  out  in  this  way  go  by  freight ;  occasionally 
there  are  a  few  shipments  made  by  farmers  directly.  The  shipments  of 
eggs  from  Ada  during  1912  appear  in  the  following  table: 

By  By  Average  Price 

Express       Freight  Total         per  Dozen 

(Cases)        (Cases)        (Cases)         (Cents) 

January 16  5  21  25.5 

February    20  2  22  25.5 

March 58  49  107  16.4 

April 17  253  270  17.1 

May 7  178  185  16.1 

June 4  206  210  15.0 

July 2  95  97  15.0 

August   2  100  102  16.3 

September    1  74  7S  18.7 

October 1  6  7  21.0 

November 4  ...  4  24.0* 

December 32  ...  32  25.0* 

Total   164        968      1.132  18.4 

•Estimated. 


50  L.  D.  II.  J  VELD 

Jt  will  be  noticed  from  this  table  that  eggs  are  shipped  by  express  in  the 
winter  when  shii)nients  are  light,  and  by  freight  during  the  months  of  heavy 
production.  Jt  should  be  remembered  that  these  shipments  represent  only 
the  surplus  over  and  above  the  amounts  consumed  by  the  town. 

The  merchants  keej)  no  record  of  their  egg  exchanges  and  have  but 
little  notion  of  the  exact  cjuantity  traded  in.  One  merchant,  who  probably 
receives  more  than  any  other,  estimated  the  quantity  of  eggs  taken  in  by 
months  as  follows : 

Cases 

January 10 

February 10 

^larch   ' 18 

April    100 

May 160 

June 160 

July    100 

August   75 

September    50 

October 40 

November 20 

December 20 

Poultry 

Very  little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  marketing  of  poultry  until 
within  recent  years.  Until  about  seven  years  ago  there  were  i)ractically  no 
chickens  or  turkeys  shipped  out,  although  there  were  a  few  traded  at  the 
stores.  When  they  were  brought  to  town  in  any  quantity,  there  was  no 
market  for  them.  The  man  who  handles  eggs  and  ])utter  for  the  mer- 
chants took  hold  of  the  ])oultrv  ]>nsiress  in  1906  and  began  ])uying  direct 
from  farmers.  The  business  grew  rapidly  from  year  to  year  until  in  1*)12 
it  had  become  too  much  for  him  to  handle  with  his  other  interests,  and 
some  of  the  leading  merchants  took  it  up.  They  take  jioultrv  in  trade  in 
fairly  large  ([uantities  during  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  ship  to  large  cities. 

The  approximate  shipments  of  poultry,  alive  and  dressed,  during  l')12 
bv  moiuhs,  were  as  follows: 


January 
February 
March    .  , 
Al)ril    .  .  . 
May   .  .  . 
lune  ... 


Alive 
(Pounds) 

300 

Dressed 
(Pounds) 

50 

Total 
(Pourds) 

3.=^0 

30 

30 

120 

120 

COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  51 

Alive  Dressed  Total 

(Pounds)  (Pounds)  (Pounds) 

July    

August   

September    1,250  210  1,460 

October  2,850  22  2,872 

November 13,047  9,817  22,864 

December    1,500  5,169  6,669 


Totals 19,097  15,268  34,365 

Practically  two  thirds  of  the  total  poultry  shipments  were  in  November ; 
86  per  cent  were  in  November  and  December  together.  More  than  half 
(55.6  per  cent)  were  shipped  alive  in  coops.  December  was  the  only  month 
when  dressed  shipments  exceeded  live  shipments.  In  November,  turkeys 
formed  8,807  pounds  of  the  13,047  pounds  of  live  poultry  shipped. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  STORES  AND  INDUSTRIES  OF  THE  VILLAGE 

The  first  store  made  its  appearance  about  1876.  In  the  spring  of  1877 
there  were  in  the  village  one  general  store  and  one  hotel,  one  grain  and 
seed  warehouse,  a  small  railroad  station,  and  two  dwelling  houses.  A  sec- 
ond store  was  started  in  1878  and  a  third  in  1879.  For  the  next  three  or 
four  years  the  village  grew  rapidly  and  stores  multiplied.  In  1881  there 
were  three  general  stores,  two  hardware  stores,  one  drug  store,  and  two 
hotels.     Two  new  general  stores  were  started  that  year. 

By  1883  the  number  of  stores  had  increased  so  rapidly  that  there  were 
nearly  as  many  at  that  time  as  there  are  to-day.  In  1896  one  of  the  local 
papers  enumerated  the  number  of  stores  and  other  business  and  profes- 
sional establishments  of  each  kind.  An  attempt  has  been  made  in  the 
following  table  to  fit  the  present  situation  to  this  classification,  and  also 
to  fill  it  in  for  1883  from  tlie  advertisements  that  appeared  in  the  local 
paper  at  that  time. 

Number  of  Stores  and  Other  Business  and  Professional  Establish- 
ments 

1883      1896  1913 

General  merchandise  stores 5  6  5 

Grocery  and  notion  stores 1  1  1 

Fruit  stores    1  2  * 

Clothing  stores 1  2 

Jewelry  stores 2  2  2 

Watchmakers  2  3  2 

Drug  stores 2  3  2 

Banks  1  2  2 

Newspapers 1  2  2 

Lumber  yards    2  2  t2 

Machinery  stores 3  3  3 

Hardware   stores 2  3  4 

Furniture  stores 1  1  2 

Harness   shops 2  3  1 

Shoemakers    1  1 

Tailors   1  3 

Milliners  1  2  2 

Dressmakers   1  3  $    . 

Laundries   1 

Barber  shops 1  1  2 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


53 


18S3      1896  1913 

Photographers    1  1 

Livery   stables 2  1  1 

Blacksmith    shops 1  4  1 

Meat   markets 1  2  1 

Real  estate  dealers 3  3  4 

Lawyers    3  4  6 

Doctors   2  3  3 

Hotels   2  2  2 

(*)  A   number   of  stores   handle   fruit. 

(t)  Including  the  lumber  yard  connected  with   the   sawmill. 

(t)  Unknown. 

There  may  have  been  some  stores  which  did  not  advertise  in  1883,  and  hence 
the  figures  for  that  year  may  not  be  complete.  The  same  store  is  included 
under  two  or  more  classifications  in  a  few  instances;  for  example,  in  1913 
one  store  is  reported  under  both  jewelry  stores  and  drug  stores,  and  one  cf 


Some  of  the  Principal  Stores 

the  general  stores,  which  has  an  extensive  furniture  department,  is  reported 
both  under  "general  merchandise"  and  "furniture."  For  this  reason,  totals 
of  the  various  columns  do  not  reveal  the  number  of  separate  stores  at 
each  date. 

The  reason  why  Ada  has  failed  to  gain  appreciably  as  a  business  cen- 
ter is  that  the  section  immediately  adjacent  to  the  village  has  not  furnished 
sufficient  business  to  make  up  for  the  gradual  cutting  down  of  tributary 
territory.     At  first  it  had  a  very  extensive  tributary  area,  extending  fifteen 


The  Saw  ^lill  and  the  Lumber  Yard 


Tlie  A'illage  and  tlie  Elevators 


Bird's-e\e  \ie\v  <it   the  Business  Secti 


COMMi'XI  T  V  S  0  CIA  L  S  UR I  'E  Y  55 

or  twenty  miles  west  into  Dakota  and  a  like,  or  even  greater,  distance  to  the 
east.  Furthermore,  Crookston  (thirty  miles  away)  was  the  nearest  point 
of  any  importance  on  the  north,  and  Aloorhead  (also  thirty  miles)  on  the 
south.  The  advent  of  the  railroads  fourteen  miles  west  of  Ada  in  1883 
and  fourteen  miles  east  in  1886  has  already  heen  described.  The  opening 
of  the  line  on  the  west  had  little  apparent  effect  at  first,  because  the  num- 
ber of  settlers  was  increasing  so  rapidly  as  to  overcome,  in  part  at  least, 
the  cutting-oft"  of  trade  territory  in  that  direction.  By  1886,  however,  when 
:he  eastern  half  of  the  tributary  country  was  cut  oft",  land  had  been  pretty 
well  taken  up ;  and  since  this  event  was  contemporaneous  with  a  period  of 
short  crops  and  low  wheat  prices  the  effect  was  anything  but  stimulating. 
The  injury  of  crops  by  floods  in  188.^  and  subsec|uent  years  also  had  an  ef- 
fect on  the  business  of  the  stores. 

Nothing  better  illustrates  the  dependence  of  a  country  town  on  tlie 
extent  and  pro'-perity  of  the  tributary  farming  community  than  the  history 
of  this  village.  During  the  period  of  stagnation  after  1886  there  were 
numerous  failures ;  storekeepers  sold  out  and  moved  away ;  the  number 
of  farm  foreclosure  sales  was  enormous.  It  was  not  until  1891  that  pros- 
perity returned  to  the  farmers,  for  in  that  year  there  was  a  huge  wheat 
crop  and  the  price  of  wheat  was  high.  The  village  also  prospered.  One 
storekeeper  w'ho  is  still  in  business  said  that  1891  was  the  best  year  he  ever 
had,  that  he  was  dealing  in  lumber  at  that  time  and  that  he  sold  twenty- 
eight  carloads  for  cash  in  three  months  during  that  year. 

Beginning  with  1893  another  period  of  stagnation  set  in  due  to  low 
wheat  prices,  poor  crops,  and  "hard  times"  in  general.  Floods  played  their 
part  in  cutting  down  the  wheat  yield.  Matters  began  to  improve  again  in 
1898  and  there  was  continued  prog'"ess  until  about  1905  when  a  series  of 
wet  years  retarded  the  agricultural  development.  The  trade  territory  had 
also  been  gradually  cut  down.  Villages  grew  up  at  points  on  the  railroad 
about  ten  miles  north  and  ten  miles  south  ;  elevators  were  built  at  points 
only  six  miles  north  and  six  miles  south,  with  a  store  at  each  place,  and  a 
lumber  yard  at  the  northern  point ;  and  finally  two  country  stores  appeared, 
one  about  eight  miles  northeast  and  another  eight  miles  northwest,  each 
taking  away  some  trade  from  the  stores  of  Ada.  The  last  serious  flood  to 
date  was  in  1909,  and  since  that  time  the  community  has  been  making  fair 
progress. 

In  the  early  days  the  inhabitants  of  Ada  believed  that  their  village 
was  destined  to  develop  into  an  important  city.  Hope  was  held  out  to 
them  for  many  years  that  they  would  get  additional  railway  facilities.  Dur- 
ing the  eighties  and  even  the  nineties  the  local  papers  were  continually  re- 
porting rumors  of  new  railroads  which  would  probably  reach  the  village. 
It  was  especially  desired  that  the  line  running  westward  from  Dtiluth  should 
pass  through  Ada ;  it  was  a  disappointment  that  this  line  should  have  been 


56  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

built  through  Crookston,  thirty  miles  to  the  north,  especially  as  this  event 
practically  put  an  end  to  the  hope  that  Ada  might  become  a  junction  point. 

Early  hopes  and  occasional  periods  of  prosperity  left  a  legacy  of  busi- 
ness establishments  far  exceeding  in  number  the  present  requirements  of 
the  community.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  for  many  years  there  have  not  been 
more  than  one  or  two  stores  that  have  really  made  any  money,  i.  e.,  profits 
over  and  above  fair  wages  of  management  to  the  proprietors,  and  many 
haven't  even  made  that.  Some  of  the  storekeepers  are  able  to  maintain 
their  present  standards  of  living  through  the  savings  and  investments  from 
early  prosperous  times  and  not  from  current  profits  of  their  stores. 

In  1912  there  were  thirty-three  stores,  including  the  lumber  yard,  a 
photographer,  two  coal  dealers,  and  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  There 
were  also  three  saloons.  The  total  volume  of  business  was  considerable,  as 
shown  in  the  following  table,  where  a  rough  classification  of  the  dififerent 
kinds  of  stores  is  given,  and  where  some  of  the  figures  are  estimated. 

Business  of  the  Stores  ix  1912 

Gross  Sales 

5  general  stores $125,820 

5  hardware  and  farm  machinery  stores 88,536 

2  clothing  and  1   miscellaneous  men's  and  women's 

furnishings  65,927 

2  butcher  shops 27,850 

1  bakery  and  restaurant,  2  restaurants  with  light  gro- 

ceries, and  1  grocery 35,612 

2  millinery  stores 5,000 

3  saloons   55,000 

2  coal  dealers  and  Standard  Oil  Company 21,000 

All  other  stores 75,000 


$500,000 


Among  "all  other  stores"  the  most  important  are  one  lumber  dealer,  two 
tailors  (there  were  three  in  1913),  one  jewelry  store,  one  combination  drug, 
jewelry,  and  general  variety,  one  heating  and  plumbing  concern,  and  one 
harness  shop. 

In  connection  with  this  total  of  about  $500,000,  which  represents  the 
annual  business  of  the  stores,  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  estimated 
value  of  farm  products  marketed  through  the  village  was  a  little  over 
$300,000.  This  latter  figure  represents  roughly  the  aggregate  annual  money 
income  of  farmers  in  the  territory  tributary  to  Ada,  and  also  their  aggre- 
gate purchasing  power,  or  amount  spent  at  the  stores,  with  the  exception 
of  such  sums  as  were  spent  for  professional  services,  or  sent  away  to 
catalogue  houses,  or  paid  in  taxes,  or  deposited  in  savings  accounts  in  the 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


0/ 


banks,  etc.  A  large  amount  of  business  also  comes  to  the  stores  from 
farmers  that  market  their  products  through  other  villages.  Farmers  ac- 
count for  about  three  fifths  of  the  $500,000  business  of  the  stores.  The 
general  stores  get  about  two  thirds  of  their  business  from  farmers ;  the 
hardware  and  machinery  dealers,  an  even  larger  proportion ;  on  the  other 
hand,  the  saloons,  included  with  stores  in  this  $500,000  total,  got  the  bulk 
of  their  trade  from  the  village  people,  and  there  are  other  stores  of  which 
this  is  true.  It  must  be  remembered  that  this  town  is  larger  than  the 
average  prairie  village,  that  it  is  a  county  seat,  and  that  it  has  a  sawmill 
which  employs  many  hands,  as  well  as  other  manufacturing  interests  de- 
scribed below.     On  account  of  these  factors,  the  village  inhabitants  have 


The   Hotel   and   the   Stores 


sufficient  buying  power  to  account  for  a  relatively  large  proportion  of  the 
store  business.  The  great  dependence  of  the  village  stores  on  the  farming 
population,  both  directly  and  indirectly,  however,  is  clearly  apparent. 

From  a  priori  reasoning,  it  was  believed,  when  this  investigation  was 
begun,  that  a  historical  survey  of  the  mercantile  business  of  the  town  would 
reveal  in  an  instructive  way  the  development  of  specialization  in  merchan- 
dising. It  was  found,  however,  that  for  thirty  years,  specialization  had 
advanced  but  little.  What  specialization  there  has  been  came  about  during 
the  first  five  or  six  years  of  the  settlement  of  the  village.  Hardware  and 
farm  machinery  have  been  handled  by  a  separate  class  of  dealers  from 
almost  the  very  first ;  there  have  been  at  least  one  jewelry  store  and  one  drug 
store  for  over  thirty  years.     A  store  handling  furniture  exclusively  was 


38  L.  I).  H.  WELD 

started  during  the  summer  of  1913,  but  this  does  not  mark  a  new  develop- 
ment of  specialization,  unless,  indeed,  this  one  should  prove  permanently  suc- 
cessful. There  was  an  exclusive  furniture  store  as  early  as  1S83,  but  this 
and  suixsequent  attempts  failed.    There  are  two  stores  which  handle  nothing 


M^HtelMb:  \  \  $fet: ' '  ^:^^^fH0  'liIrR 


da^g^ioltriilH^  :  i>^.:i:^ 


Distribution  of  Sales  of  Retail  Stores  liy  Months,  1912   (P-Zxpressed  as  Per  Cents  of 

Total  AiHiual  Sales) 


hut  men's  clothing  and  furnishings.    (  )ne  of  these  is  perhaps  the  most  suc- 
cessful and  best  managed  store  in  town. 

The  general  store  handles  groceries,  boots,  and  shoes,  and  ladies'  cloth- 
ing and  furnishings.     The  most  important  in  each  is  groceries.     There  is 


CO  MM  UNI  r  y  SOCIA  L  S  UR  VE  Y 


59 


but  one  store  in  town  that  handles  groceries  alone,  and  this  is  a  small  one. 
Boots  and  shoes  are  sold  by  at  least  eight  different  stores.  The  only  one 
that  handles  them  exclusively  is  the  village  cobbler  who  carries  a  fair  stock 
of  shoes  for  sale. 

That  the  mercantile  business  of  the  town  is  split  up  among  a  large  num- 
ber of  stores  is  shown  in  the  following  table  which  classifies  the  thirty- 
three  stores  according  to  their  gross  annual  sales. 

Annual   Sales  Number  of  Stores 

Under  $5,000 6 

$5,000     to  $10,000 5 

$10,000  to  $15,000 9 

$15,000  to  $20,000 4 

$20,000  to  $25,000 4 

$25,000  to  $30,000 1 

$30,000  to  $35,000 2 

$35,000  to  $40,000 2 


The  following  table  and  accompanying  diagram  show  the  percentage 
of  total  annual  sales  of  different  kinds  of  stores  each  month  during  the 
year: 

TABLE  VI 
Percentage  of  Annual  S.a.les  of  Retail  Stores  for  Each  AIonth 


Kind  of  Store 

Month 

General 

Hard- 
ware 

Farm 
machin- 
ery 

Men's 
clothing 

Jewelry 

Lumber 

All 

Kinds 

January 

February 

March 

5.4 
6.0 
8.1 
8.3 
8.8 
9.2 
7.4 
9.1 
8.2 
9.4 
10.1 
10.0 

4.0 

3.8 

5.3 

8.8 

10.0 

9.6 

14.1 

11.3 

9.6 

7.9 

8.4 

7.2 

7.5 

0.4 

8.1 

18.4 

21.0 

12.7 

6.2 

13.8 

4.7 

1.0 

1.0 

5.3 

3.5 

2.6 

6.0 

7.4 

13.4 

12.5 

6.5 

5.1 

7.0 

9.2 

14.5 

12.3 

6.5 
4.6 
7.4 
5.9 
6.4- 

11.5 
4.3 
5.0 
4.4 
5.8 
9.0 

29.2 

0.8 

1.6 

2.5 

15.5 

5.2 

16.1 

13.8 

12.7 

4.6 

10.6 

12.6 

4.0 

4.3 
3.9 
6.4 

April 

9.7 

May 

10.0 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

11.2 
9.1 
9.2 
7.3 
8.6 

November 

December 

10.5 
9.8 

It  will  be  observed  that  for  all  stores  shown  in  the  table,  the  sales  of 
January  and  February  are  very  light,  and  that  they  increase  gradually  to 
a  maximum  in  June,  although  November  and  December  are  also  heavy 
months.  The  June  maximum  is  due  partly  to  large  sales  of  farm  ma- 
chinery and  men's  clothing  in  that  month.  The  business  of  the  general 
stores,  consisting  largely  of  groceries,  is  the  most  uniform  throughout  the 


60  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

year.  Over  half  of  the  farm  machinery  is  sold  during  the  months  of 
April,  May,  and  June.  Men's  clothing  shows  maximum  points  in  spring 
and  fall;  jewelry  in  June  and  December,  the  two  months  when  gift-giving 
is  most  common ;  lumber  shows  extreme  variations,  with  the  heaviest  months 
during  the  summer  and  fall. 

General  Appearance  of  Stores 

The  twenty-three  principal  stores  may  be  roughly  classified  according 
to  their  general  appearance  as  follows :  good,  seven ;  fair,  seven ;  poor,  nine. 
The  principal  items  considered  under  general  appearance  are  window  dis- 
play, arrangement  of  store,  character  of  fixtures,  cleanliness  and  arrange- 
ment of  stock  on  shelves  and  in  cases.  Of  the  seven  classified  as  good  in 
appearance,  three  or  four  deserve  special  praise.  For  example,  one  of  the 
hardware  stores  would  be  a  credit  to  a  town  several  times  larger ;  the  lead- 
ing clothing  store  has  glass  cabinets  in  which  the  suits  are  hung  on  hangers ; 
the  jewelry  store  is  particularly  attractive  and  has  a  large  line  of  carefully 
selected  and  artistically  arranged  goods.  When  the  town  went  "dry"  in 
the  spring  of  1913,  the  leading  saloon  was  transformed  into  a  drug  store, 
the  bar  itself  having  been  converted  into  a  soda  fountain.  No  expense 
or  pains  has  been  spared  in  making  this  a  thoroughly  up-to-date  store  in 
every  respect.  (There  is  apparently  no  intention  of  changing  back  to  a 
saloon  if  the  town  votes  for  license  again.)  Three  of  the  five  general  stores 
appear  to  keep  their  stock  moving  and  have  their  shelves  in  good  order  ; 
the  other  two  have  goods  which  have  apparently  been  on  the  shelves  for 
years.  All  of  the  twenty-three  stores  have  electric  lights.  Three  of  them 
heat  with  steam  or  hot  water,  one  with  a  hot-air  furnace,  and  nineteen 
with  coal  or  wood  stoves. 

Store  Management 

Although  the  stores  were  liberal  in  giving  information,  most  of  them 
have  such  poor  accounting  systems  that  their  figures  are  largely  in  the 
form  of  estimates,  especially  those  dealing  with  value  of  stock,  amount  paid 
for  merchandise,  and  expenses.  The  twenty-three  principal  stores  may  be 
classified  roughly  as  follows  with  regard  to  the  efficiency  of  their  account- 
ing systems : 

Kind   of   System  Conditinn  Number  of  Stores 

T^     ,  1  I  good  5 

Double  entry {  - 

■'  Ipoor  1 

National  Cash  Register  system 1  , 

(good  3 

Smgle  entry J  ,  _ 

^  ^  ipoor  12 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  61 

There  are  really  only  six  stores  (outside  of  the  lumber  yard)  that  have  effi- 
cient, well-kept,  accounting  systems.  Among  those  classified  as  "single 
entry"  there  are  some  who  have  practically  no  system  at  all.  Some  do  not 
even  keep  a  record  of  sales.  At  least  half  of  them  take  no  inventory.  Of 
the  five  general  stores,  only  two  have  accounts  in  such  shape  as  to  enable 
the  proprietors  to  ascertain  anything  definite  about  the  condition  of  the 
business.  Of  the  twenty-three  stores  only  seven  have  cash  registers,  while 
one  has  wire  carriers  and  a  cashier.     - 

Cost  of  Doing  Business 

For  most  of  the  stores  investigated  accurate  operating  costs  could  not 
be  obtained.  There  is  the  greatest  diversity  of  practice  even  where  at- 
tempts are  made  to  keep  cost  accounts.  Only  five  of  the  leading  merchants 
take  out  and  charge  salaries  for  themselves,  and  some  of  those  that  do,  take 
out  small  salaries  that  do  not  represent  fair  wages  of  management.  The 
amounts  so  charged  range  from  $40  to  $100  per  month,  two  taking  out  $75. 
Members  of  the  proprietor's  family  work  in  the  store  in  at  least  eight  or 
ten  cases,  and  with  two  exceptions  no  salaries  are  paid.  Three  or  four 
charge  interest  to  expense  and  one  or  two  depreciation  on  fixtures  and  build- 
ing. 

The  proportions  of  operating  expenses  to  gross  sales  in  four  of  the 
general  merchandise  stores  in  1912  were  approximately  19.2  per  cent,  17.1 
per  cent,  17.0  per  cent,  and  16.5  per  cent  respectively.  The  average  was 
17.5  per  cent.  For  the  purpose  of  making  these  computations  comparable, 
however,  proprietors'  salaries  have  been  arbitrarily  added  for  two  of  the  four 
,  stores,  and  raised  for  a  third.  In  no  case,  however,  is  more  than  $75  per 
month  allowed.  If  $100  per  month  had  been  allowed,  the  average  cost  would 
have  been  18.7  per  cent.  Three  of  these  stores  are  among  the  best-managed 
in  town.  Among  some  which  have  not  adopted  such  up-to-date  methods, 
the  cost  of  doing  business  appears  to  be  lower.  The  net  profits  in  these 
other  stores  are  not  so  large  in  proportion,  however,  because  of  less  fre- 
quent turn-over  of  stock,  poor  selection  of  merchandise,  etc.  In  three  or 
four  of  the  better-managed  specialty  stores,  the  cost  of  doing  business  ap- 
pears to  be  about  14  or  15  per  cent.  Many  of  the  storekeepers  have  tried 
to  compute  the  relation  between  operating  costs  and  sales  in  this  way,  but 
most  of  them  have  failed  to  figure  in  salaries  for  themselves  and  other  items, 
with  the  result  that  the  figures  they  have  obtained  are  too  low. 

The  most  important  item  in  expenses  is  salaries  of  clerks,  which  run 
from  $40  to  $65  a  month  for  men,  with  the  average  almost  exactly  $50.  The 
salaries  of  women  are  lower.  There  are  two  stores  that  employ  four  clerks 
regularly,  one  that  employs  three,  and  six  that  employ  two.  Except  on 
account  of  occasional  special  sales,  the  number  of  salesmen  employed  re- 


62 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


mains  fairly  constant  during  the  first  eight  months  of  the  year,  and  increases 
slightly  for  the  last  four  months. 

Of  the  twenty-three  leading  stores  there  were  seventeen  that  advertised 
during  the  year  1912.  The  average  amount  spent  for  advertising  was  $223. 
There  were  three  stores  that  spent  over  $500;  two  of  these  spent  between 
$800  and  $900.  These  two,  by  the  way,  had  the  largest  volume  of  business 
and  the  greatest  net  profits.  All  of  the  general  stores  make  deliveries  in 
town.  Newspaper  advertisements  in  1883  indicate  that  they  delivered  goods 
even  at  that  date.  The  telephone  is  used  freely  in  giving  orders,  just  as  in 
larger  towns  and  cities. 

Cash  and  Credit  Business 

In  a  region  where  there  is  still  so  much  dependence  on  crops  that  are 
harvested  in  the  fall,  credit  business  naturally  plays  an  important  part  in 
merchandising.  With  the  gradual  development  of  dairying  and  stock-  and 
poultry-raising,  however,  conditions  are  not  as  bad  as  they  were  formerlv. 


Jaa 

Feb        Ma.r 

Apr 

M^      June 

July      -^qs     Sept.     Oct. 

Nov. 

:Dec.| 

% 

% 

7i 

72 

1 

t* 

f- 

1 

f 

— 

— 

hi 

St 

1 

/ 

/ 

\ 

^ 

/ 

/ 

-> 

.-'-' 

f^ 

\ 

— 

^--77 

Si 

/ 

\ 

\ 

f 

y 

^ 

\ 

\ 

*' 

,  ^' 

-•' 

,^ 

/  I 

S^^~^-^ 

^•' 

^  ■  —  -_ 



^ 

X 

;^ 

•f 

\ 

V 

X 

"" 

\_ 

- 

■~--- 

\ 
\ 

a 

H3 

ail  Stores  .                   

GenertJ  Merchandise     -^— -— . 

1 

Mem    Olotlitr^               

Per  Cent  That  Credit  Sales  Were  of  Total  Sales,  by  Months.  1912,  for  All  Stores  and 

for  Various  Kinds  of  Stores 

One  of  the  merchants  said,  "Take  away  the  cow  and  the  chicken  and  we 
would  be  in  the  clutches  of  credit  to-day,  just  as  we  were  twenty  or  thirty 
years  ago.  While  my  credit  business  used  to  run  up  to  $6,000,  now  it 
seldom  exceeds  $3,000."     It  has  come  to  be  the  custom  for  people  li\ing  in 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


63 


town  to  settle  their  accounts  monthly.  The  leading  merchants  have  been 
working  toward  this  end.  Farmers'  accounts  are  allowed  to  run  longer. 
Some  business  men  in  town,  however,  render  their  bills  only  once  a  year. 
One  merchant  who  is  striving  to  get  his  finances  on  a  monthly  basis  said  that 
he  had  not  yet  been  able  to  induce  his  drayman  to  render  a  bill  oftener  than 
once  a  year.  The  merchants  themselves  have  a  curious  custom  of  allowing 
their  purchases  from  each  other  to  run  for  a  year  and  then  settling  balances. 
The  proportion  of  credit  business  to  total  sales  varies  for  different 
months  of  the  year,  as  would  be  expected.  The  following  table  shows  this 
proportion  by  months  in  1912  for  eight  of  the  leading  stores  together: 

Per  Cent  that  Credit 
Month  Business  is  of  Total  Sales 

January    50.0 

February    47.5 

March 46.0 

April 55.1 

May    50.8 

June    46.9 

July 60.9 

August  58.3 

September   51.5 

October  46.7 

November    41.6 

December 38.7 

The  proportion  of  credit  business  varies  for  dififerent  kinds  of  stores, 
as  shown  in  the  following  table  and  in  the  diagram  on  page  62. 

TABLE  VII 
Percentage  that  Credit  Business  is  of  Total  Sales 


Month 


Kind  of  Store 

General 

Hardware  and 

Men's 

merchandise 

machinery 

clothing 

Per  cent 

Per  cent 

Per  cent 

39.2 

71.5 

50.0 

43.0 

57.9 

44.3 

37.4 

48.0 

67.2 

39.7 

66.5 

66.2 

43.9 

64.6 

41.1 

41.4 

56.2 

43.4 

43.9 

75.4 

49.5 

41.8 

76.6 

48.5 

41.5 

62.3 

51.4 

35.7 

57.7 

55.9 

32.9 

58.0 

40.9 

33.1 

54.4 

33.5 

January. . 
February . 
March. .  .  . 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August.  .  . 
September 
October. . . 
November 
December. 


64 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


A  record  of  the  cash  and  credit  business  by  months  was  obtained  from 
one  store  for  the  year  1892  as  well  as  for  1912.  The  proportion  of  credit 
business  to  total  sales  for  each  month  is  shown  in  the  following  table. 


January  .  . 
February  . 
March  .  .  . 
April   .  .  .  . 

May 

Tune    .... 

July  

August  .  . 
September 
October  .  . 
November 
December 


Per  Cent 
for  1892 

Per  Cent 
for  1912 

41.8 

42.0 

52.8 

49.7 

56.1 

47.3 

64.9 

54.3 

58.2 

54.5 

64.6 

55.0 

65.3 

49.2 

69.7 

52.6 

72.5 

46.0 

49.4 

38.3 

38.9 

38.0 

38.5 

36.0 

Other  Forms  of  Service 

In  addition  to  the  mercantile  business  of  the  stores,  which  amounted 
to  practically  $500,000  in  1912,  there  are  certain  professional  and  other 
services,  as  well  as  a  few  manufacturing  industries,  which  furnish  important 
means  of  livelihood  in  the  village.  Some  of  the  more  important  forms  of 
services  are  as  follows : 


Form  of  Service 

Lawyers 

Physicians    

Dentists    '. 

Barbers   

Veterinarians 

Hotels   

Newspaper  and  printing  plants 

Garages    

Livery  and  draymen 

Abstracter   

Blacksmith 


Number  Engaged 

6 
3 

9 


Approximate 
Gross  Business 

$  10,000 

13,000 

6,000 

3,000 

4,500 


65,000 


Total 


$101,500 


In  addition  to  these  there  should  be  mentioned  real  estate  men  (five  firms), 
whose  productive  capacity  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  measure.  There 
are  also  of  course  teachers,  ministers,  music  teachers,  seamstresses,  etc. 


81 

211 

41.2 

52.5 

$3,450.00 

$8,870.00 

COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  65 

Mail-Order  Competition 

A  careful  attempt  was  made  to  determine  the  volume  of  mail-order 
business  of  this  community  by  asking  each  family  canvassed  the  amount 
purchased  from  catalogue  houses  during  the  preceding  year.  With  but 
few  exceptions,  this  question  was  answered  frankly ;  although  in  many  in- 
stances the  replies  were  rather  vague  because  the  exact  amount  purchased 
could  not  be  recalled.  The  following  table  presents  the  results,  and  al- 
though the  figures  may  not  represent  accurately  the  whole  amount  pur- 
chased in  this  way,  yet  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  error  is  slight. 

Farmers         Village  People  Total 

Number  of   families   reporting  purchases 

from  catalogue  houses 130 

Percentage  of  total  families  visited 64.6 

Total  amount  of  such  purchases,  1912.  .  .  $5,420.00 

Average  amount  purchased  per  family  re- 
porting      $41.70         $42.59         $42.04 

The  most  noticeable  thing  about  these  figures  is  that  the  total  purchases 
from  catalogue  houses  amounted  to  only  $8,870  for  the  year  1912.  Con- 
siderable allowance  might  be  made  for  possible  error,  and  even  then  the 
amount  would  be  surprisingly  small  when  compared  with  the  business  of 
the  stores.  But  before  this  comparison  is  made,  a  number  of  modifications 
must  be  considered.  In  the  first  place,  there  are  certain  kinds  of  stores, 
such  as  the  bakery  and  restaurants,  the  coal  dealers,  the  meat  shops,  and 
the  saloons,  that  do  not  have  to  compete  with  mail-order  houses.  In  the 
second  place,  the  stores  do  a  certain  amount  of  business  with  farmers  beyond 
the  district  covered  by  the  survey.  The  number  of  regular  customers  not 
covered  in  the  survey  is  not  large — perhaps  fifty  in  the  country  and  an  equal 
number  in  the  village — but  since  Ada  is  the  county  seat  and  the  largest  town 
in  the  county  people  come  occasionally  from  distant  points,  and  many  often 
make  rather  extensive  purchases  on  these  occasional  visits. 

Allowances  being  made  for  the  factors  mentioned  above,  the  business  of 
the  stores  which  is  open  to  mail-order  competition  amounted  to  about  $380,- 
000.  Assuming  that  four  fifths  of  the  regular  customers  of  the  stores  were 
canvassed,  the  total  mail-order  business  of  the  immediate  trade  territory  was 
about  $11,000,  or  only  about  three  per  cent  of  the  business  done  by  the 
stores.  It  was  evident  very  early  in  the  investigation  that  the  amount  of 
business  sent  to  catalogue  houses  was  much  smaller  than  the  merchants 
imagined,  but  that  it  should  be  only  about  three  per  cent  was  surprising. 
After  the  most  liberal  allowances  have  been  made  for  other  factors  that 
might  be  considered,  such  as  occasional  purchases  by  well-to-do  people  of  the 


66  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

village  on  their  trips  to  larger  cities,  the  total  purchases  outside  the  village 
are  safely  under  five  per  cent  of  the  gross  business  of  the  stores. 

On  tiie  whole,  the  attitude  of  the  farmers  toward  the  stores  was  de- 
cidedly friendly.  Many  of  them  of  course  felt  that  they  were  getting  "stung" 
at  the  stores,  just  as  people  everywhere  feel,  but  most  of  them  said  they 
believed  in  patronizing  the  local  stores  as  much  as  possible.  Some  had  had 
imsatisfactory  experiences  with  mail-order  houses  and  had  given  them  up 
on  that  account.  Although  no  definite  figures  were  obtained,  perhaps  furni- 
ture and  rugs  were  the  articles  most  frequently  mentioned  as  being  bought 
from  catalogue  houses.  Only  a  few  btiy  groceries  in  this  way ;  many  send 
for  dress  goods  and  boys'  clothing  and  overalls ;  a  few  buy  shoes,  and  one 
farmer  wdio  buys  very  extensively  in  this  way  said  that  he  had  found  greater 
saving  on  shoes  than  on  any  other  article.  Two  cream  separators  were 
reported  as  bought  at  a  great  saving;  one  the  purchaser  wasn't  satisfied 
with ;  the  other  had  never  given  a  bit  of  trouble  during  nine  years  of  opera- 
tion.   Other  articles  mentioned  were  hardware,  blankets,  and  ladies'  coats. 

The  attitude  of  the  various  merchants  with  regard  to  the  mail-order 
business  varied ;  they  all  had  vastly  exaggerated  notions  of  its  volume ;  some 
of  the  merchants  felt  very  bitterly  that  farmers  should  send  away  at  all,  and 
were  apparently  sincere  in  their  declarations  that  they  had  no  moral  right 
to  do  so.  Others  were  more  temperate  in  their  attitudes,  and  said  they 
didn't  blame  farmers  for  sending  away  if  they  could  buy  things  more  cheaply 
elsewhere.  The  parcel  post  had  apparently  not  made  any  appreciable  dif- 
ference, for  most  farmers  had  not  had  occasion  to  use  it  during  the  first 
six  months  of  its  operation.  Some  even  had  to  have  it  explained  to  them. 
Merchants  had  evidently  found  much  more  use  for  it  than  had  the  farmers. 

The  Sawmill 

By  far  the  most  important  manufacturing  establishment  is  the  saw  and 
planing  mill,  originally  built  in  1897,  destroyed  by  fire  in  1906,  and  rebuilt 
in  1907.  The  logs  that  feed  this  mill  are  floated  down  the  Wild  Rice  River 
from  a  region  in  the  White  Earth  Indian  Reservation  about  fifty  or  sixty 
miles  due  east  of  Ada,  but  probably  twice  that  distance  by  river.  The 
Wild  Rice  River  is  small  and  has  but  little  water  for  floating  logs,  and  much 
difficulty  is  encountered  in  bringing  them  through.  The  lakes  at  the  sources 
have  to  be  dammed  in  order  to  collect  sufficient  water  to  float  the  logs.  A 
large  and  experienced  crew  is  necessary  to  make  the  most  of  the  water 
when  it  is  let  out  of  the  lakes.  During  the  summer  of  1913  over  one  hundred 
men,  mostly  Indians  and  half-1)rceds.  were  employed  in  this  way,  the  drive 
finally  reaching  Ada  not  until  August,  although  it  had  started  from  the  head 
of  the  river  in  the  spring.  Fortunately  this  crew  did  not  tarry  at  Ada  after 
the  drive  reached  that  point  because  that  town  had  voted  out  the  saloons 
in  the  previous  spring.    The  supply  of  timber  which  has  kept  this  mill  going 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  67 

for  several  years  is  nearly  exhausted.  The  management  announces  that  it 
will  run  one  more  season  and  then  either  dismantle  or  sell  the  mill. 

The  sawmill  runs  only  during  the  spring,  summer,  and  fall ;  the  planing 
mill  the  year  round.  During  1912  the  sawmill  ran  from  April  15  to 
November  15.  That  the  mill  plays  an  important  part  in  the  economic  life 
of  the  village  is  apparent  from  the  following  statement  of  the  average 
number  of  men  employed  at  different  periods  during  the  year  : 

Men 

January  1,  1912  to  April  15 30 

April  15  to  July  15 150 

July  15  to  November  15 90 

November  15  to  January   1,   1913 30 

The  total  wages  paid  in  1912  amounted  to  $43,260.  In  that  year  about 
12,000,000  feet  of  lumber  were  turned  out,  and  about  11,100,000  feet  were 
sold.  At  $12  per  thousand,  this  would  amount  to  $133,000.  The  company 
buys  supplies  in  large  quantities  from  local  stores  when  the  drive  approaches 
Ada,  and  large  quantities  of  hay  and  oats  the  year  round.  Waste  wood 
is  sold  to  village  people  and  farmers  at  low  prices,  and  this  furnishes  a 
large  part  of  the  fuel  consumed  in  the  community.  About  70  per  cent  of 
the  output  is  shipped  to  Chicago  and  east  thereof ;  the  rest  is  shipped  to 
Minnesota  and  North  Dakota  points.  The  company  sells  direct  to  lumber 
yards  and  to  manufacturers  who  use  lumber.  The  principal  products  are 
surfaced  lumber,  rough  lumber,  laths,  and  molding. 

On  account  of  its  manipulation  of  the  water  flow  of  the  Wild  Rice 
River,  the  lumber  company  has  incurred  the  enmity  of  the  farmers,  w^ho 
believe  that  these  manipulations  have  been  partially  responsible  for  floods 
that  have  occurred  in  recent  years.  Without  question  the  stoppage  of  the 
water  has  seriously  affected  two  small  roller  mills,  one  considerably  above 
Ada,  and  one  between  Ada  and  the  Red  River,  and  the  proprietors  of  these 
establishments  have  been  awarded  damages.  Many  other  lawsuits  have  re- 
sulted from  the  operations  of  the  company,  and  as  farmers  generally  act 
as  jurymen,  the  cases  are  pretty  generally  decided  against  the  sawmill. 
Economically  the  sawmill  is  of  no  importance  to  the  agricultural  community ; 
it  is  only  through  giving  employment  to  people  in  the  village,  and  stimulating 
the  business  of  the  stores,  that  it  is  of  importanee.  In  addition  to  permanent 
inhabitants  in  the  village  that  it  employs,  it  brings  in  laborers  from  outside 
when  the  sawmill  is  in  operation. 

The  Flour  Mill 

The  inhabitants  of  Ada  were  eager  to  have  a  flour  mill  from  the  very 
earliest  days  of  settlement.     Inducements  were  offered  outside  parties  to 


68  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

erect  a  mill,  but  it  was  not  until  1895  that  one  was  finally  built.  Its  capacity 
was  only  75  barrels  per  day  until  the  spring  of  1913  when  it  was  increased 
to  150  barrels  per  day;  the  capital  stock  is  $25,000,  owned  by  seven  share- 
holders ;  it  operates  by  steam  power,  using  soft  coal  which  is  obtained  from 
Duluth  in  carload  lots ;  there  are  usually  eight  employees.  For  several  years 
the  mill  has  been  running  15  hours  a  day  on  one  shift,  which  makes  a  pretty 
long  work  day. 

The  mill  sells  its  product  over  the  northern  half  of  Minnesota,  only 
about  one  quarter  of  the  output  being  marketed  in  and  about  Ada.  The 
principal  market  is  the  towns  of  the  Iron  Range.  When  flour  can  not  be  sold 
elsewhere  at  regular  wholesale  prices,  Duluth  jobbers  stand  ready  to  take 
it,  but  this  has  to  be  sold  at  a  close  margin.  Flour  is  shipped  only  in  carload 
lots,  and  one  man  is  kept  on  the  road  about  half  his  time  drumming  up 
trade. 

This  flour  mill  has  to  compete  with  the  large  Minneapolis  millers  even 
in  Ada;  Gold  Medal,  Pillsbury,  and  Occident  flour  are  all  handled  by  the 
local  storekeepers.  Although  many  small  mills  in  neighboring  towns  have 
gone  out  of  business  during  recent  years,  the  management  of  this  mill  be- 
lieves that  the  establishment  is  not  in  danger  as  long  as  it  uses  up-to-date 
machinery  and  methods. 

The  total  output  of  the  flour  mill  in  1912  was  10,067  barrels  of  flour, 
as  well  as  large  quantities  of  bran,  shorts,  etc.  The  mill  did  some  custom 
grinding,  about  $1,000  in  1912.  The  total  value  of  the  output  in  1912  was 
about  $70,000.  The  importance  of  the  mill  as  a  market  for  the  farmers  has 
been  described  in  the  description  of  grain-marketing. 

The  Cigar  Factory 

The  cigar  factory  started  in  1901,  and  has  apparently  built  up  an 
established  and  profitable  business.  It  buys  its  leaf  in  Chicago  and  Mil- 
waukee, including  some  Pure  Havana  which  goes  into  ten-cent  cigars,  and 
good  quality  domestic  leaf  for  five-cent  cigars,  which  form  the  bulk  of 
the  output.  The  output  in  1912  was  329,000  cigars;  at  an  average  of  $40 
per  thousand,  this  output  was  worth  $13,160. 

This  establishment  sells  its  goods  to  the  stores  in  Ada  and  to  towns  in 
the  surrounding  country.  The  proprietor  spends  about  half  his  time  on  the 
road,  and  covers  many  towns  lying  east  and  west  of  Ada  in  his  automobile. 
At  first  he  relied  on  journeyman  cigar-makers,  but  they  were  hard  to  get 
and  keep  continuously,  so  he  has  followed  the  practice  of  teaching  local 
people  the  trade.  In  this  way  he  holds  them  longer  and  labor  costs  him 
less.  He  employs  from  seven  to  nine  people  much  of  the  time,  including 
young  girls  of  the  village.  The  shop  is  an  open  one,  although  it  was  at 
first  run  as  a  union  shop. 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  69 

The  Tow  Mill 

The  tow  mill  is  one  of  eight  or  ten  such  mills  owned  by  a  large  cor- 
poration which  takes  the  flax  fiber  from  these  mills  to  its  main  plant  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State  and  makes  it  into  a  packing  that  is  used  for 
insulation  in  cold  storage  plants  and  refrigerator  cars,  and  also  for  stuffing 
furniture.  The  mill  in  Ada  was  started  in  1903.  A  bonus  of  $500  was  pro- 
vided among  the  business  men,  each  giving  $25  apiece.  This  is  the  only 
bonus  that  Ada  has  ever  given  to  an  industry,  although  the  city  gave  the 
sawmill  certain  privileges  when  it  first  started. 

The  mill  takes  flax  straw,  as  brought  in  by  the  farmers,  runs  it  through 
eighteen  pairs  of  corrugated  rollers  to  break  it  up,  and  a  shaker  to  clean  out 
the  waste.  By  this  process  the  straw  is  reduced  just  about  one-half  in 
weight,  and  is  then  shipped  to  the  central  plant  where  the  process  is  com- 
pleted. The  principal  object  of  the  mill  is,  therefore,  to  reduce  the  weight 
and  save  transportation  costs.  Steam  furnishes  the  power  and  the  waste  is 
used  for  fuel.  The  mill  operates  only  in  winter;  during  the  season  of  1912- 
1913  it  ran  eight  months  from  the  middle  of  October  to  the  middle  of  June. 
In  this  time  it  used  1,050  tons  of  flax  straw,  for  which  it  paid  $2.50  per  ton 
or  $2,625.    The  output  was  527  tons,  valued  at  about  $4,500. 

The  mill  employs  fifteen  men  while  in  operation,  most  of  whom  are 
paid  only  $1.75  a  day.  Wages  are  very  low  in  Ada  during  the  winter,  and 
there  are  many  people  who  can  not  get  employment  at  all.  The  total  pay  roll 
is  but  little  over  $2,000.  The  mill  is  an  old  "shack"  which  cost  only  about 
$700.     The  value  of  the  machinery  is  about  $1,300. 

Other  Industries 
In  addition  to  these  more  important  manufacturing  establishments  there 
are  some  of  minor  importance  which  deserve  mention.  These  include  the 
bakery,  harness  shop,  two  newspaper  and  printing  plants,  a  broom  factory, 
and  a  creamery.  The  bakery  and  harness  shop  have  been  included  under 
stores.  The  bake  shop  is  a  most  interesting  establishment,  inasmuch  as 
it  does  a  surprising  amount  of  business  for  a  small  country  town,  where  the 
inhabitants  might  be  supposed  to  have  little  use  for  bakery  products.  And 
yet  this  bakery  makes  each  day  about  150  loaves  of  bread  (there  are  about 
25  regular  customers  for  bread),  20  dozen  of  doughnuts,  300 buns,  and  about 
12  pies.  A  part  of  this  output  is  sold  over  the  lunch  counter,  where  from 
100  to  150  cups  of  coffee  are  served  per  day,  together  with  lunches  running 
from  10  to  25  cents  in  value.  There  are  no  regular  boarders,  but  the  pro- 
prietor says  there  is  a  steady  stream  of  customers  from  early  morning 
until  late  at  night,  most  of  whom  have  homes  or  regular  boarding  places  but 
want  lunches  at  odd  hours.  Auto  parties  and  traveling  salesmen  also  supply 
part  of  this  trade.  Besides  this  bake  shop  there  are  two  other  lunch  rooms, 
each  doing  considerable  business. 


70  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

There  are  two  newspapers  published  in  the  vihage,  each  having  a  cir- 
culation throughout  the  whole  county.  One  is  a  Republican  paper,  and  the 
other  a  Democratic.  The  subscription  of  each  is  $1.50  per  year  and  the 
gross  circulation  of  each  from  1,200  to  1,500.  The  paid  circulation,  however, 
is  considerably  under  1,000  for  each.  Advertising  is  a  more  important  source 
of  revenue  than  subscriptions,  and  job  printing  is  another  important  item 
of  revenue.  Of  the  advertising,  about  90  per  cent  is  local  and  10  per  cent 
foreign.  Both  papers  use  "patent  insides,"  but  one  prints  all  but  two  pages 
of  its  issue.  The  combined  business  of  the  two  newspaper  plants,  including 
subscriptions,  advertising,  commercial  printing,  and  county  and  legal  work, 
is  approximately  $10,000  a  year. 

The  broom  factory  is  a  little  shop  run  by  a  blind  man.  This  man  is 
an  old  resident  of  Ada,  and  lost  his  eyesight  some  years  ago.  He  learned 
how  to  make  brooms  at  the  Minnesota  State  School  for  the  Blind,  and  per- 
forms unassisted  every  operation  from  the  selection  of  his  straw  to  the 
finishing-oflf  of  the  broom.  He  can  not  find  a  market,  however,  for  all  the 
broom?  that  he  can  make ;  comparatively  few  people  in  the  village  buy  his 
wares.  The  stores  do  not  carry  his  brooms,  but  sell  large  numbers  of 
factory  brooms  that  are  brought  in  from  the  outside.  They  claim  that  such 
brooms  have  a  better  appearance  and  finish  than  those  made  by  the  blind 
man,  and  that  therefore  the  people  in  town  prefer  them.  As  one  merchant 
said,  "It  is  purely  a  business  proposition" !  While  the  survey  was  in  prog- 
ress there  was  a  movement  on  foot  among  the  stores  to  agree  not  to 
handle  brooms  from  the  outside,  and  it  seemed  that  there  were  at  least  a 
few  citizens  of  the  village  who  were  heartily  ashamed  of  their  neighbors  for 
not  patronizing  this  home  industry. 


CHAPTER  V 

HOW  THE  VILLAGE  PEOPLE  LIVE 

Ada  is  far  more  attractive  than  the  ordinary  prairie  village.  The 
railroad  runs  through  the  center  of  the  town ;  the  two  main  business  streets 
run  parallel  to  it,  one  on  either  side.  Between  the  railroad  and  the  street  on 
the  west  side  there  is  a  little  park  with  lawns  and  walks.  There  are  a 
number  of  well-kept  brick  buildings  on  the  business  streets,  and  there  are 
mature  trees  which  improve  the  appearance  of  the  village.  The  better  stores 
are  on  the  west  side  of  the  railroad ;  the  more  attractive  residence  section 
is  on  the  east  side.  The  streets  are  broad  and  fairly  well  kept ;  there  are 
cement  walks  along  many  of  the  principal  streets. 


A  Village  Scene 

On  the  whole  the  villagers  live  in  comfortable  and  attractive  houses. 
Of  the  201  families  visited,  72  per  cent  own  their  homes.  The  average 
number  of  rooms  in  all  houses  is  6.9 ;  in  houses  occupied  by  owners  alone, 
7.4;  by  renters  alone,  5.6.  The  monthly  rent  paid  by  renters  ranged  from 
$4  and  $5  to  $12  and  $15,  with  an  average  of  $8.44,  or  an  average  per  room 
of  only  $1.51.  Many  of  the  rented  houses  are  very  small,  and  very  few 
have  any  modern  improvements.  The  yards  of  the  village  homes  are  large, 
and  74  per  cent  of  the  residents  keep  their  lawns  mowed. 


72 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


One  huiKlrcd  sixty-six  of  the  201  families  visited,  or  82.5  per  cent,  heat 
their  houses  with  coal  or  wood  stoves.  All  but  a  few  of  these  use  coal. 
There  are  16  houses  w^ith  hot-w^ater  heat  and  a  like  number  with  hot-air 
furnaces.  The  hot-air  furnaces  are  mostly  crude  brick  casings  built  around 
an  iron  fire  box.  In  addition  to  the  heating  apparatus  79  families,  or  39 
per  cent  of  the  total,  reported  oil  stoves  which  they  used  for  cooking  dur- 
ing the  summer. 

The  number  of  comforts  and  conveniences  in  the  houses  is  rather  sur- 
prising. Sixty  per  cent  of  the  houses  are  lighted  by  electricity,  and  91,  or 
45  per  cent,  have  electric  flatirons.  There  are  16  families,  or  8  per  cent  of 
the  total,  that  use  vacuum  cleaners.  Fifty-eight  per  cent  of  all  families 
visited  have  telephones.    Fifty-five  per  cent  have  running  water  in  the  house ; 


The  Court  iiuuse 

about  half  of  the  remainder  get  their  drinking  water  within  five  rods  of  the 
house,  while  others  have  to  go  some  distance.  Thirty-six,  or  18  per  cent 
of  the  total,  have  bathrooms  in  the  house.  Half  of  the  famiUes  report 
washing  machines,  but  many  of  these  have  fallen  into  disuse.  Washing 
machines  are  not  used  so  much  in  the  village  as  on  the  farm.  About  15 
per  cent  of  the  houses  have  screened  porches. 

Most  of  the  housewives  of  the  village  do  their  own  work.  There  were 
37  families,  or  18.4  per  cent  of  the  total,  who  reported  employment  of  a  hired 
girl  during  the  year  1912.  The  average  number  of  days  that  these  Z7 
families  had  help  was  190,  or  only  a  little  over  a  half  year.  The  average 
expenditure  of  these  37  families  for  hired  help  was  $93.83,  and  the  average 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


72> 


wages  per  week  were  $3.57.  Twenty-eight  families,  or  14  per  cent  of  the 
total,  hire  women  to  do  their  washing.  Ninety-six  families,  or  48  per  cent 
of  the  total,  hire  dressmakers  to  do  at  least  a  part  of  the  sewing. 

Social  Life  in  the  Village 

In  the  early  days  Ada  was  undoubtedly  a  lively  little  town.  An  item 
in  the  local  paper  in  1883  informs  us  that  traveling  men  said  that  Ada  was 
the  "liveliest  town  on  the  road."  Another  item  states  that  "Ada  is  fast  be- 
coming the  Paris  of  the  Red  River  Valley.  For  music  and  pleasure  her 
people  take  the  lead  and  all  the  surrounding  villages  dance  to  her  music." 
Dances,  card  parties,  church  socials,  and  home  entertainments  were  of  very 
frequent  occurrence.    The  brass  band  was  in  great  demand  not  only  in  Ada, 


A  Village  Church 

but  in  surrounding  towns.  Pinafore  was  given  by  local  talent  in  1884. 
A  sportmen's  club  was  organized  in  that  year,  mainly  to  enforce  the  game 
laws.  Shooting  prairie  chickens  always  has  been  and  still  is  one  of  the 
principal  recreations  for  the  men.  Roller  skating  became  the  rage  in  1884 
and  a  "large  new  rink"  was  built  in  1885.  This  same  rink  to-day  serves 
as  a  very  poor  excuse  for  an  opera  house,  the  only  one  in  town. 

This  great  social  activity  lasted  until  about  1887 ;  numerous  organiza- 
tions had  been  formed,  such  as  a  dramatic  club,  a  toboggan  club,  and  a 
military  company.  Frequent  masquerades  were  held ;  the  town  had  a  suc- 
cessful baseball  team ;  elaborate  Fourth- of-July  celebrations  were  held.  As 
trade  languished  during  the  latter  eighties,  however,  the  gay  life  and  spirit 


74 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


also  of  the  place  apparently  languished.  In  1888  Ada  failed  to  celebrate  the 
Fourth  of  July  for  the  first  time ;  social  events  became  less  frequent ;  even 
the  band  disbanded.  An  "old  resident"  returning  in  1893  said,  according 
to  the  local  paper,  that  "Ada  is  going  backward.  Her  sidewalks  are  getting 
dilapidated.     The  buildings  need  painting,  and  everything  looks  old." 

There  have  been  two  noticeable  changes  in  the  development  of  social 
life  in  the  village  since  the  early  days.  These  are,  first,  whereas  formerly 
the  village  people  and  the  farming  population  mixed  freely  in  the  social 
activities  of  the  village,  to-day  there  is  very  little  social  intercourse  between 
the  village  and  the  country;  and,  second,  while  the  people  of  the  village 
formerly  got  together  for  general  good  times,  to-day  they  are  split  up  into 
groups  or  cliques,  each  group  having  its  own  social  activities. 


The  High  School 


It  is  said  that  in  the  early  days  there  often  used  to  be  as  many  farmers 
as  villagers  at  the  dances  in  Ada ;  that  the  country  people  frequently  drove 
as  much  as  ten  miles  w^ith  the  thermometer  well  below  zero  to  attend  these 
village  functions.  The  stratification  of  social  groups  in  the  village  has  un- 
doubtedly had  something  to  do  with  the  change  that  has  come  about. 
Country  people  seldom  attend  more  than  one  or  two  dances  a  year  in  the 
village  now  ;  such  dances  as  they  do  attend  usually  occur  on  days  like  the 
Fourth  of  July,  and  are  not  heavily  attended  by  certain  classes  in  the  vil- 
lage. There  is  of  course  much  social  intercourse  between  certain  families 
in  the  village  and  their  relatives  in  the  country,  and  villagers  sometimes 
venture  forth  to  church  suppers  in  the  country.     The  social  ties  between 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


75 


village  and  country  that  result  from  church  activities  are  largely  among  the 
Norwegians. 

The  splitting-up  into  groups  within  the  village  has  been  developed  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  be  unfortunate.  Church  affiliation  is  the  principal 
factor  that  determines  these  groups  ;  nationality  plays  its  part.  Although 
the  social  life  revolves  largely  about  the  churches,  there  are  numerous 
societies  and  lodges,  certain  details  of  which  are  shown  in  the  following 
table : 


TABLE  Vni 
Village  Social  Organizations 


Rural 

Number 

Total 

memb 

ership 

of 

Average 

Societies 

member- 
ship 

meetings 
during 

atten- 
dance 

Purpose 

1913 

1908 

year 

Young    Ladies'    Read- 

ing Club 

16 

1 

18 

12 

Study  and  social 

Twentieth     Centurv 

Club 

25 
15 

18 
18 

18 
9 

Study  and  social 
Study  and  soci 

Schiller-Verein 

3 

3 

Ada  Gun  Club 

20 

* 

* 

Recreation 

Lodges: 

Modern  Woodmen.  . 

68 

20 

17 

1 

12 

Insurance  and 
fraternal 

Yeoman 

16 

6 

6 

2 

7 

Insurance  and 
fraternal 

L  S.  W.  A 

16 

2 

4 

8 

8 

Insurance  and 
fraternal 

Odd  Fellows 

15 

3 

3 

2 

8 

wSick  benefits  and 
fraternal 

Masons 

57 

1 

2 

15 

12 

Fraternal 

Royal  Neighbors.  .  . 

24 

4 

5 

18 

10 

Insurance  and 
fraternal 

Rebekahs. ... 

12 
30 



6 

3 

18 

10 
20  . 

Fraternal 

Eastern  Star 

Fraternal 

*Not  known. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  table  that  these  organizations  have  a  comparatively 
small  membership,  and  that  some  of  the  lodges  hold  very  few  meetings, 
w4iich  are  also  poorly  attended.  The  insurance  feature  is  the  only  thing  that 
keeps  some  of  these  in  existence.  There  should  also  be  mentioned  in  this 
connection  the  Commercial  Club,  a  thriving  organization  of  bttsiness  men 
organized  for  both  social  and  promotive  purposes.  This  club  has  large  and 
well-furnished  quarters  in  the  City  Hall,  a  brick  Ijuilding,  the  lower  floor  of 
which  is  occupied  by  the  fire-fighting  apparatus,  the  city  offices,  and  the  city 
jail.      The    Commercial    Club   occupies   the   second   floor.      It   maintains   a 


76  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

small  but  neat  rest  room  for  the  accommodation  of  women  visiting  the 
village  from  the  country  or  surrounding  towns. 

The  Young  Ladies'  Reading  Club  was  organized  in  1891  and  has  had 
continuous  existence.  The  active  membership  is  sixteen,  and  it  meets  every 
two  weeks  during  the  winter  at  the  houses  of  members.  It  usually  holds  at 
least  one  function  during  the  year  to  which  it  invites  non-members,  and  it 
has  two  club  picnics  during  the  summer.  At  the  meetings  some  member 
reads  a  paper  or  gives  a  talk  on  an  assigned  subject.  One  season  was  spent 
in  studying  France,  its  history,  literature,  art,  etc.  During  the  last  two 
years  it  devoted  meetings  to  the  initiative  and  referendum,  woman  suffrage, 
the  schools,  and  subjects  in  home  economics.  It  is  the  only  organization 
that  has  taken  up  the  study  of  subjects  of  this  nature.  Following  the  dis- 
cussion, a  lunch  is  served. 

The  Twentieth  Century  Club  has  been  in  existence  since  1901,  and  be- 
came federated  with  the  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  in  1904.  The 
membership  is  limited  to  twenty-five,  and  the  average  attendance  at  meetings 
in  1912-1913  was  eighteen.  It  meets  every  two  weeks  at  the  houses  of 
members,  and  meets  in  the  evening  to  permit  the  attendance  of  school  teach- 
ers. It  is  primarily  a  study  club,  and  carries  out  a  regular  program  at  each 
meeting.  Each  member  responds  to  the  roll  call  with  an  account  of  some 
important  event  of  general  interest  that  has  recently  occurred.  For  the 
season  1913-1914  this  club  was  planning  a  study  of  the  modern  drama. 
That  this  organization  is  sincere  in  its  wish  to  be  a  purely  study  club  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  it  allows  no  refreshments  to  be  served  at  its 
regular  meetings.  It  holds  at  least  one  gentlemen's  evening  each  year,  and 
generally  a  social  gathering  to  which  non-members  are  invited.  It  sends 
delegates  to  the  annual  convention  of  the  State  Federation,  and  also  to  the 
District  Federation  meetings. 

The  Schiller- Verein  was  also  organized  in  1901  among  ladies  of  Ger- 
man descent,  with  the  object  of  becoming  more  proficient  in  the  German 
language  and  of  studying  German  literature.  This  club,  however,  has  de- 
veloped more  into  a  social  organization.  Originally  conversation  at  the 
meetings  had  to  be  carried  on  in  German,  and  there  was  a  fine  for  speaking 
English.  This  requirement  is  not  lived  up  to  now.  Some  of  the  subjects 
studied  during  the  last  few  years  have  been  German  musicians,  the  art  of 
Germany  and  other  countries,  and  great  inventions  and  inventors.  This 
club  always  has  German  refreshments  and  entertains  the  men  at  German 
suppers  about  three  times  during  the  season.  Card-playing  is  the  form  of 
entertainment  usually  employed.  This  club  is  very  exclusive  and  limits 
its  membership  to  fifteen. 

Other  organizations  which  play  an  important  part  in  the  social  life 
among  the  ladies  of  the  town  are  the  ladies'  aid  societies  of  the  churches, 
and  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  which  has  an  active  chapter.    The  extent  to  which  the 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  77 

people  of  the  village  belong  to  the  various  organizations  is  shown  in  the  fol- 
lowing table,  which  indicates  the  proportion  of  the  201  families  visited  which 
have  one  or  more  members  in  the  organizations  listed : 

I'er  cent 

Sunday  schools 44.8 

Ladies'  aid  societies 41.2 

Young  people's  societies 29.3 

Lodges   27.3 

Literary  societies   14.9 

W.  C.  T.  U 13.9 

Although  social  functions  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  winter,  they 
are  confined  to  the  various  groups  and  clubs.  Some  of  the  people  frequently 
entertain  each  other  informally  at  dinner.  There  are  almost  no  formal  calls 
made,  except  on  new  people.  It  is  said  that  formal  calls  were  made  more 
frequently  a  few  years  ago  than  to-day.  Many  people  complain  that  there  is 
a  surprising  amount  of  snobbishness  in  this  little  town ;  that  the  people  seem 
very  self-centered ;  that  new  people  often  have  great  difficulty  in  getting 
acquainted  and  in  gaining  entrance  to  the  social  life.  These  criticisms  came 
not  only  from  people  who  had  been  residents  for  only  a  short  time,  but  also 
from  old  residents  who  were  leaders  in  the  social  life. 

Recreation 

Although  93  per  cent  of  the  families  report  reading  as  a  form  of  recrea- 
tion, the  reading  matter  in  the  village  is  neither  very  abundant  nor  very 
substantial.  There  is  no  public  library,  although  one  was  started  during 
the  eighties  and  lasted  for  a  few  years.  The  Commercial  Club  receives 
books  from  a  traveling  library,  but  these  do  not  have  a  very  wide  circula- 
tion. Although  the  matter  was  not  inquired  into  during  the  investigation, 
it  was  apparent  that  there  are  but  few  private  libraries  of  substantial  value. 

Fifty-eight  per  cent  of  the  families  are  regular  subscribers  to  city  daily 
papers  (principally  from  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul).  Eighty-three  per  cent 
take  at  least  one  of  the  two  local  papers,  and  36  per  cent  take  both.  Fifty- 
three  per  cent  have  first-class  magazines,  and  the  average  number  of  mag- 
azines per  family  for  those  who  take  them  at  all,  is  2.8.  About  22  per 
cent  take  the  cheaper  magazines,  those  having  a  subscription  price  of  thirty- 
five  cents  a  year  or  less,  with  an  average  of  1.3  per  family.  Thirty-eight 
per  cent  of  the  families  take  religious  publications,  and  37  per  cent,  agri- 
cultural papers. 

The  commonest  forms  of  recreation  besides  reading  are  card-playing, 
dancing,  moving-picture  shows,  and  music.  Of  all  the  families  visited,  47  per 
cent  reported  card-playing  as  a  form  of  diversion,  although  some  of  these 
families  play  but  little.    Thirty-three  per  cent  of  the  families  were  opposed 


78  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

to  card-playing.  Thirty-seven  per  cent  had  members  who  attend  dances, 
and  2^  per  cent  were  opposed  to  dancing.  In  a  few  famihes,  daughters  had 
begun  to  dance  in  spite  of  the  oposition  of  parents,  and  the  opposition  had 
died  out.  This  probably  accounts  for  the  greater  proportion  who  are  op- 
posed to  card-playing  than  to  dancing.  (This  situation  is  interesting  when 
compared  with  that  in  the  German-Lutheran  settlement  of  farmers  northeast 
of  the  village  where  the  preacher  is  unalterably  opposed  to  dancing,  but 
sanctions  both  beer-drinking  and  card-playing.) 

Moving  pictures  were  shown  at  the  opera  house  at  least  twice  a  week 
during  the  year,  and  four  times  a  week  part  of  the  time.  There  were  about 
68  per  cent  of  the  families  which  reported  that  parents  or  adults  attended 
the  ''movies,"  an  average  of  18.7  performances  per  family  during  the  year. 
There  were  about  56  per  cent  that  had  children  or  young  people  who  at- 
tended, with  an  average  of  33.4  during  the  year.  Very  few  theatrical  com- 
panies come  to  town,  partly  because  of  the  inadequacy  of  the  opera  house. 
Fifty  per  cent  of  the  families  reported  that  adults  had  attended  the  two  or 
three  shows  that  had  visited  the  village,  and  39  per  cent  that  young  people 
had  attended  them.  The  lyceum  course  is  held  in  the  schoolhouse  each 
winter,  and  is  well  attended.  The  brass  band  gave  a  series  of  three  or  four 
concerts  in  the  opera  house  during  the  season  of  1912-1913,  and  47  per  cent 
of  the  families  reported  attendance  at  one  or  more. 

One  hundred  thirteen  families,  or  56  per  cent  of  the  total,  reported 
musical  instruments  in  the  home.  This  proportion  is  a  bit  misleading,  be- 
cause in  many  houses  the  instruments  are  used  but  little.  Thirty-eight  per 
cent  of  the  families  had  pianos;  15  per  cent,  organs;  17  per  cent,  violins; 
14  per  cent,  phonographs;  8  per  cent,  banjos,  mandolins,  or  guitars;  and  16 
per  cent,  band  instruments.  The  brass  band  has  a  paid  leader  who  also 
teaches  music  in  the  school  and  who  plies  the  trade  of  a  tailor  on  the  side. 
There  has  also  been  organized  a  juvenile  band,  the  members  of  which  were 
industriously  attempting  to  learn  to  play  their  various  instruments  during 
the  summer  that  this  investigation  was  under  way. 

During  the  summer  the  most  noticeable  recreation  is  motoring.  Of  the 
families  visited,  34,  or  16.9  per  cent,  own  automobiles.  The  total  number 
in  the  town  reaches  50  or  60.  Besides  daily  rides  out  on  the  prairie, 
parties  frequently  take  long  trips  over  Sundays.  There  is  no  good  lake 
near  at  hand  and  auto  parties  often  go  60  to  70  miles  south  into  the 
lake  region  near  Detroit,  for  a  week-end  outing,  and  for  a  little  fishing. 
Most  of  the  people  who  can  afford  it  spend  vacations  of  two  or  three 
weeks  during  the  summer  at  the  lakes.  The  continual  absence  of  a 
large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  and  the  constant  use  of  automobiles  by 
those  who  own  them  practically  preclude  social  activity  during  the  summer. 
The  coming  of  the  automobile  during  the  past  few  years  was  assigned  as  a 
reason  for  the  segregation  of  the  villagers  into  distinct  social  grouDS.     The 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  79 

number  of  villagers  who  keep  driving  horses  was  found  to  be  34,  the  same 
as  the  number  that  own  automobiles.  About  half  of  these  keep  teams;  the 
others,  single  horses. 

Other  out-of-door  sports  are  not  much  in  evidence.  Baseball  is  played 
a  little,  and  occasional  games  are  held  with  surrounding  villages  on  Sundays 
during  the  summer.  Eleven  per  cent  of  the  families  of  the  village  have  boys 
who  play  Sunday  baseball.  There  are  two  or  three  tennis  courts,  but  only 
one  is  kept  in  good  condition  and  used  frequently.  The  high  school  has 
football,  baseball,  and  basket-ball  teams. 

Means  of  Livelihood  of  Town  People 

The  following  table  shows  the  occupations  of  the  heads  of  182  families. 
This  table  does  not  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  importance  of  the  sawmill 
as  a  source  of  employment,  because  many  of  the  mill  hands  are  temporary 
residents  living  at  boarding  houses,  and  were  not  included  in  the  survey. 

Heads  of 
families 

Retired  farmers 21 

Merchants    21 

Professional   men    15 

Laborers    12 

Sawmill    12 

Contractors  and  carpenters 11 

Government  positions  (federal,  county,  and  city) 10 

Liverymen  and  teamsters 9 

Railroad  work   (including  station) 8 

Real  estate   6 

Active  farmers 5 

Banking   4 

Clerks  in  stores 4 

Elevator  managers    4 

Retired  from  business 3 

Saloon  keepers  and  bar  tenders 3 

Threshing  outfits 3 

Manufacturing  (other  than  sawmill) 3 

Barbers    2 

Butchers    2 

Tailors 2 

Painters    2 

Automobiles   (garage  and  repairing) 2 

Blacksmiths   2 

Engineers  and  machinists 2 

Janitors  2 


80  L.  D.  H.  WELD 


Heads  of 
families 


Newspaper  publishers  2 

Tinsmith 

Hotel  clerk 

Cement  business    

Well-driller   

Insurance    

Photographer  

Butter-maker   

Plumber    

Pool  room  

Mason  

182 

By  '"retired  farmers"  is  meant  those  who  have  actually  retired  from  active 
life.  They  constitute  only  11  per  cent  of  the  families  reported,  although 
127,  or  6Z  per  cent,  were  raised  on  farms.  Government  positions  are  im- 
portant in  this  town  because  it  is  a  county  seat.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  the  figures  apply  only  to  families  visited  during  the  survey ;  that  they 
include  about  four  fifths  of  the  permanent  residents ;  and  that  there  are 
always  a  number  of  temporary  residents,  especially  while  the  sawmill  is 
in  operation,  that  are  not  included  at  all.  Employment  in  the  less  skilled 
occupations  is  not  very  regular,  owing  not  only  to  the  shutting-down  of 
the  sawmill  in  winter,  but  also  to  the  fact  that  other  out-of-door  occupa- 
tions are  suspended  during  the  cold  months.  For  this  reason  wages  are 
much  lower  in  w'inter  than  in  summer.  Only  62.2  per  cent  reported  that 
they  had  worked  full  time  during  the  previous  year.  The  average  ntimber 
of  days  of  work  for  all  was  270. 

There  is  but  little  opportunity  in  Ada  for  the  younger  generation  to 
find  profitable  employment,  and  this  accounts  for  the  noticeable  efflux  of 
sons  and  daughters  to  other  places.  This  is  clearly  shown  with  regard  to 
sons  over  18  years  of  age  by  the  following  statement: 

Per  cent 
Number  of  total 

Sons  living  at  home  and  working  in  Ada 37  20.0 

Sons  working  in  country 29  15.6 

Sons  working  in  cities  and  towns  other  than 

Ada 86  46.2 

Sons  farming  in  home  commtmity 19  10.2 

Sons  farming  at  a  distance 15  8.0 


Total    186  100.0 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  81 

Of  the  2)7  sons  living  at  home  and  working  in  the  village,  12  are  clerks,  4 
work  in  the  sawmill,  and  2  are  carpenters ;  the  others  are  in  a  variety  of 
occupations.  There  are  also  9  daughters  living  at  home  and  working  in 
the  village.  Three  of  these  are  in  the  cigar  factory,  2  in  the  hotel,  one  is 
a  barber  in  her  father's  shop,  and  the  others  are  clerks  or  stenographers. 

The  86  sons  working  in  other  cities  and  towns  represent  55  families, 
or  over  25  per  cent  of  those  visited.  Their  principal  occupations,  with  the 
number  in  each,  are  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Clerks  and  salesmen 9 

Merchants 7 

Engineers    5 

Lawyers 5 

Contractors  and  carpenters 5 

Common  laborers 5 

Banking  4 

Printing  and  publishing 3 

Machinists   3 

The  foregoing  statement  accounts  for  but  little  over  half  of  the  sons  work- 
ing in  other  cities.  The  remainder  are  in  too  great  a  variety  of  occupations 
to  enumerate.  It  should  be  mentioned,  however,  that  there  is  one  of  each 
of  the  following:  doctor,  professional  ball  player,  grand  opera  singer,  and 
artist. 

Only  14  girls  were  reported  as  away  from  home  and  working  in  cities. 
Eight  of  these  were  clerks,  2  were  nurses,  2  were  telegraph  operators,  one 
a  milliner,  and  one  was  doing  housework.  There  were  also  28  daughters 
representing  25  families  reported  as  teaching,  which  therefore  forms  the 
principal  occupation  of  girls  who  are  gainfully  employed. 

Annual  Incomes 
The  annual  income  of  the  head  of  the  family  was  ascertained  from 
about  seven  eighths  of  all  families  visited.     In  some  cases  the  returns  were 
estimated,  and  are  only  approximately  correct.    The  following  table  shows 
the  number  with  incomes  in  five-hundred-dollar  groups: 

Per  cent 
Annual  income  Number  of  total 

Under  $500 31  17.6 

From  S500     to  $999 77  43.7 

From  $1,000  to  $1,499 19  10.8 

From  $1,500  to  $1,999 14  8.0 

From  $2,000  to  $2,499 12  6.8 

From  $2,500  to  $2.999 7  4.0 

From  $3,000  to  $3,499 7  4.0 

$3,500  and  over 9  5.1 

Total   ^76  100.0 


S2 


L.  D.  H.  WELD 


Sixty-one  and  tliree-tenths  per  cent  have  incomes  of  less  than  $1,000,  and 
43.7  ])er  cent  have  incomes  between  $500  and  $1,000.  There  were  nine  people 
among  those  visited  wlio  claimed  incomes  of  $3,500  or  over.  The  average 
income  means  but  little,  owing  to  the  fact  that  a  few  large  incomes  raise  it 
inordinately.  By  eliminating  the  two  largest  incomes,  both  well  over  $5,000, 
the  aggregate  income  of  174  heads  of  families  was  $202,300,  or  an  average 
of  $1,162.  The  mode,  or  point  of  greatest  frequency — and  this  is  more 
significant — mav  be  said  to  lie  between  $700  and  $(S00. 


Incomes  of  Heads  of  Village  Families   (Per  Cent  of  Total  in   Eacli  $500  Group) 

In  addition  to  the  incomes  of  heads  of  families,  housewives  and  sons 
and  datighters  living  at  home  reported  considerable  incomes.  The  princi- 
pal methods  by  which  housewives  add  to  family  incomes  are  the  selling 
of  milk  and  eggs,  renting  of  rooms,  and  taking-in  washing.  There  were 
49  families  in  which  the  housewife  added  to  the  income  in  these  ways,  with 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY  83 

average  annual  earnings  of  $109.20.  There  were  also  36  families  with 
children  living  at  home  who  earned  on  the  average  $557  per  family.  There 
were  62.2  per  cent  of  the  families  having  vegetable  gardens,  many  of  which 
are  small,  and  the  value  of  truck  raised  ranges  from  $5  to  $50 ;  28.4  per 
cent  keep  chickens;  11.4  per  cent,  cows;  and  6  families  living  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  village  keep  hogs  and  thus  raise  part  of  their  own  meat 
supply. 

Socialism 

Ada  has  a  little  body  of  socialists  who  are  affiliated  with  the  Socialist 
Party  and  who  have  been  holding  meetings  since  1902.  They  began  as  a 
club  which  made  a  study  of  socialism  and  most  of  the  members  soon  be- 
came socialists.  This  organization  meets  once  a  month,  and  has  two  special 
meetings  each  year.  There  are  thirty-two  members  of  the  local  organization, 
ten  of  whom  are  farmers,  Init  the  average  attendance  is  only  about  eight.  It 
has  no  president  and  elects  a  chairman  for  each  meeting.  At  the  meetings 
general  discussions  of  socialism  are  held,  and  there  are  generally  two  or  three 
social  meetings  during  the  year.  A  holiday  supper  or  dance  is  generally 
given,  and  an  annual  picnic  is  held  during  the  summer.  These  functions 
are  exceptional  in  that  the  farmers  and  town  people  mix  freely.  As  one 
of  the  leaders  put  it,  "Socialism  seems  to  be  the  only  bond  that  brings  coun- 
try and  town  people  together  socially."  Occasionally  arrangements  are  made 
to  have  some  outside  speaker  address  open  meetings. 

Since  its  organization  in  1902  socialism  has  not  gained  in  Ada  ;  it  has 
been  gaining  steadily,  however,  in  the  country,  and  in  other  villages  in  the 
county.  In  fact  there  are  eleven  locals  in  the  county,  some  of  which  are 
fairly  strong. 


SUMMARY 

1.  The  farmers  of  this  community  depend  mainly  on  grain  crops. 
Wheat  is  still  the  most  important  crop  in  value,  but  the  greatest  gains  of 
recent  years  have  been  in  the  production  of  barley  and  oats.  At  present  the 
culture  of  corn  is  increasing  very  rapidly.  Cattle-raising  and  dairying  are 
developing,  but  not  so  rapidly  as  one  might  wish.  The  dependence  on  grain 
crops  means  a  more  or  less  fluctuating  income  from  year  to  year  and  has 
resulted  in  partial  exhaustion  of  the  soil.  These  facts  have  an  important 
bearing  not  only  on  the  economic  well-being  and  standard  of  living  of  the 
farmers,  but  also  on  the  social  activities  of  the  community. 

2.  The  long  distances  between  farmhouses,  the  mixture  of  nationalities 
and  religions,  the  coming  and  going  of  renters,  the  cold  winters,  and  the 
long  hours  of  work  all  stand  in  the  way  of  the  development  of  social  in- 
tercourse among  farmers.  The  lack  of  sociability  in  this  community  is  very 
noticeable,  except  in  a  few  small  sections.  The  organization  of  the  Farmers' 
Club  was  a  move  in  the  right  direction,  but  one  of  the  principal  things  that 
the  community  needs  is  something  to  bring  the  farmers  together  to  a  greater 
extent  so  that  they  may  learn  to  know  each  other  better  and  benefit  from 
the  broadening  influence  of  contact  with  their  fellows,  and  thereby  make 
farm  life  more  interesting  and  attractive. 

3.  On  the  whole  the  farmers  are  not  well  organized  economically.  The 
creamery  is  about  the  only  organization  of  importance,  but  this  does  not 
play  as  important  a  role  in  their  lives  or  add  as  much  to  their  economic 
well-being  as  creameries  in  communities  where  dairying  is  more  important. 
The  "Farmers'  Elevator"  is  not  a  farmers'  elevator ;  no  live  stock  had  been 
shipped  cooperatively  when  this  survey  was  made ;  there  had  been  no  cooper- 
ative purchase  of  supplies.  No  general  rule  can  be  laid  down  as  to  how 
far  the  farmers  of  any  single  community  should  go  in  these  respects,  but 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  activities  enumerated  above  have  been 
developed  in  scores  of  other  communities  to  both  the  economic  and  social 
benefit  of  all  farmers  concerned. 

4.  Although  the  facilities  for  marketing  farm  products  are  fairly  ade- 
quate, there  are  certain  weak  points  in  the  present  system.  The  flour  mill 
has  an  important  and  beneficial  influence  on  the  local  wheat  market.  The 
local  elevators  ofifer  a  satisfactory  market  for  grains,  although  some  sav- 
ings might  be  attained  through  a  cooperative  company,  especially  as  such 
a  company  could  purchase  supplies  in  carload  lots  for  farmer  members. 
In  the  marketing  of  butter,  too  much  butter  is  made  on  the  farm,  and 
not  enough  cream  is  hauled  to  the  creamery.  If  more  were  hauled  to  the 
creamery,  that  institution  could  make  a  better  quality  of  butter  at  a  lower 
cost  per  pound,  and  therefore  pay  more  for  butter  fat  than  it  is  now  paying. 
Conditions  are  ripe  for  cooperative  marketing  of  live  stock.     Eggs  are  still 


COMMUNITY  SOCIAL  SURVEY 


85 


traded  at  the  village  stores,  with  little  attention  to  production,  grading,  etc., 
a  situation  from  which  but  few  communities  of  the  State  have  begun  to 
emerge. 

5.  The  school  situation  is  improving,  but  there  are  still  comparatively 
few  children  who  ever  finish  the  eighth  grade,  and  the  number  who  go 
beyond  that  is  almost  negligible.  The  people  feel  that  farms  are  too  far 
apart  and  the  population  too  sparse  to  make  consolidated  schools  possible. 
It  is  only  through  education  that  advancement  along  other  lines  can  be 
attained,  and  for  that  reason  the  subject  should  be  given  even  more  atten- 
tion than  at  present. 


TABLE  IX 
Comparison  of  Village  and   Country 


Per  Cent  of  All 

Families  Visited 

In  village 

In  country 

16 

3 

60 

0 

45 

0 

8 

0 

55 

2 

58 

67 

18 

1.5 

50 

61 

15 

3.5 

18 

26 

48 

32 

41 

40 

45 

23 

29 

19 

27 

14 

14 

0 

14 

0 

58 

43 

83 

84 

53 

22 

22 

34 

38 

35 

27 

76 

47 

46 

ii 

25 

37 

*41 

25 

27 

50 

14 

39 

20 

38 

6.5 

15 

2,3 

14 

24 

17 

6 

Hot- water,  steam,  or  hot-air  heating  plant 

Electric  lights 

Electric  flatirons 

Vacuum  cleaners 

Running  water  in  house 

Telephone 

Bathroom  in  house 

Washing  machines 

Screened  porches 

Employ  maid  for  house  work 

Average  weekly  wage:     village,  $3.57;  country,  S4.16 
Hire  dressmakers. 
Represented  in  ladies'  aid  societies , 
Represented  in  vSunday  schools. 
Represented  in  young  peoples'  societies . 
Represented  in  lodges. 

Represented  in  literary  societies 

Represented  in  W.  C.  T.  U 

Subscribe  to  city  daily  paper 

Subscribe  to  local  paper 

Subscribe  to  first-class  magazines 

Average  number  per  family:     village,  2.  8;  country,  1.9 

vSubscribe  to  cheap  magazines 

Subscribe  to  religious  publications 

Subscribe  to  agricultural  papers 

Play  cards 

Opposed  to  card-playing 

Attend  dances 

Opposed  to  dancing 

Adults  attend  theatricals 

Children  attend  theatricals 

Have  pianos 

Have  organs 

Have  phonographs 

Have  Automobiles 


*Most  members  of  farmers'  familiea  attend  dances  very  seldom,  perhaps  only  once  or  twice  a  year. 


86  L.  D.  H.  WELD 

6.  The  number  of  stores  in  the  village  is  much  larger  than  is  necessary 
to  supply  efficiently  the  population  of  the  section.  No  store  has  as  much 
as  $40,000  annual  business,  and  the  cost  of  doing  business  is  high.  Some 
of  the  stores  are  neat  and  attractive,  however,  give  good  service,  and  a  few 
carry  surprisingly  complete  and  attractive  stocks  of  merchandise. 

7.  The  feeling  among  the  merchants  against  the  mail-order  business  is 
largely  unwarranted,  because  it  appears  that  only  52.5  per  cent  of  all  fami- 
lies visited  ever  buy  from  catalogue  houses,  and  that  their  average  pur- 
chases amount  to  only  $42.04  per  year.  The  whole  mail-order  business 
amounts  to  only  about  three  per  cent  of  the  total  business  of  those  stores 
which  are  open  to  this  sort  of  competition. 

8.  In  many  ways  the  social  life  of  the  village  is  very  pleasant,  and 
the  people  form  close  friendships.  They  are  divided,  however,  into  well- 
defined  groups,  with  the  result  that  each  group  is  rather  self-centered  and 
self-sufficient.  In  view  of  the  lack  of  contact  with  the  outside  world,  a 
more  general  social  life  in  the  village  would  undoubtedly  aid  in  developing 
wider  interests.  There  is  very  little  social  mingling  between  the  ^■illage  folk 
and  the  farmers. 

9.  On  the  whole  the  village  people  have  a  surprising"  innnber  of  com- 
forts in  their  homes,  and  live  in  attractive  houses.  The  cost  of  living  is 
decidedly  low  as  compared  with  city  life  and  people  with  moderate  means 
enjoy  certain  comforts  that  would  be  impossible  with  the  same  incomes 
in  larger  cities.  This  is  one  of  the  principal  conveniences  of  small-town 
life,  although,  on  the  other  hand,  the  small  town  ofifers  but  little  employ- 
ment for  the  young  people,  thus  forcing  them  to  move  to  larger  cities 
to  gain  a  livelihood.  There  is  a  much  more  noticeable  movement  of  young 
people  from  the  village  to  the  city  than  from  the  farm  to  the  city. 


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